** 1 THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES TSvO IN UNIFORM STYLE. RUSSIA. By D. Mackenzie WAiiLACE, M.A. Member of tlie Imperial Russian Geographical Society. 8vo., Cloth; with two colored maps, $4. TURKEY. By James Baker, M.A., Lieu- tenant-Colonel Auxiliary Forces, formerly Eighth Hussars. 8vo., Cloth; with two colored maps, $4. HENRY HOLT & CO., PUBLISHERS, UEW YORK. r TURKEY JAMES BAKEE, M.A. X.IEXXTEI«TA.lsrT-COX.OIsrEIj jft-XJ3S:iL.IA.I4"X" FORCES Formerly Mghth Eussara NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1877 DR BilM+i PREFACE. TT was asserted, I believe, by Sydney Smith, that "no man in England must presume to express an opinion of his own upon any subject unless he has an income of at least £3,600 a year." K that sum is required for the right of independent expression of opinion, what would be the necessary in- come for acquiring the right of producing a book ? That interesting arithmetical problem may safely be confided to the care of the Civil Service Commissioners ; but while it remains unsolved I seize the opportunity to place upon paper my experiences of Turkey in Europe, in the hope that in these days, when so much interest is felt in that unhappy country, any personal knowledge of the land and people may have some attractions and be of some service. Traveling is but a selfish gratification if the knowledge acquired by it is confined to the traveler, and it seems to me to be a duty which he owes to the public to reflect to the best of his ability his experience of the countries and peoples he has visited. As a passport to my reader for presuming to write ex catJiedrd, I may state that I have traveled on horseback more than a thousand miles through Turkey in Europe, besides many hundreds of miles along the coast in boat and steamer, and I have resided in the country off and on 3048723 iv PEE FACE. for three years. In other respects I have been so circum- stanced as to be brought into contact with officials, both foreign and native, of all grades, which has necessarily- afforded me the opportunity of acquiring much valuable information. The short acquaintance I had with Constantinople during the Crimean War enables me to compare the general aspect of that beautiful city then and now ; but it has been asserted that Paris is not France, and with still greater force may it be said that Constantinople is not Turkey, for a residence in the latter capital without visiting the interior would create a very erroneous impres- sion of the people. It is a country where it is extremely difficult to obtain accurate information, in consequence of the either pro- or anti-Turkish proclivities of the informants. I remember, for example, upon one occasion asking a resident of many years' standing — a very clever man, but a Philottoman — his opinion of the integrity of a certain pasha, who held a very important government post, and I received in answer such a glowing description of the virtues of the old Turk that I instinctively raised my eyes to his shoulders in search of the budding of angelic wings, but on turning to another resident of equally long stand- ing, but a Turcophobist, and putting the same question, I received a reply which made me turn my inspection to the pasha's slippers in search of the cloven foot. The truth lay probably midway between these extreme opin- ions — that is to say, that the pasha had been known to do many just and praiseworthy acts, but that he, at the same time, acknowledged the efficacy of haclcsMsTi. It is this mixture of poison with the pure fluid which produces — according as either one or the other has been PREFACE. V most tasted— tlie divergence of opinion so common to the conntry. It is a doctrine of Confucius that " True virtue consists in avoiding extremes ; " and in the following pages I shall do my utmost to profit by this instruction, in order that the Turk may be weighed fairly in the balance. A very few years ago, the general public knew as little of the interior of Turkey and of its affairs as of Timbuctoo ; but the events of the last few years have created a special interest in the country, which has happily made its sub- jects better known to the world, and the greater the true knowledge in that direction the better it will be for the Turk, Such broad and sweeping condemnation is made of the whole nation by those who only gain their information second-hand, and the character of the Turkish people is so mixed up by them with that of Turkish officials, that to any impartial man who is well acquainted with the country the injustice is frequently so glaring, that it rouses his indignation at the absence which is exhibited of common justice and fair play, qualities of which Eng- lishmen are especially and justly proud. Even the Turkish Government is so frequently denied any credit for what it has done, and is so often blamed for that which it has not done, that those who in their hearts condemn it are, for the sake of fair play, ranged on the side of its defense. It is impossible for any person, and especially one who is resident in the country, to close his eyes to the short- comings of the Turkish Government, but so much the more should all Turkish subjects be pitied ; and, when humanity is concerned, I cannot understand why any distinction should be made between the Turkish and yi PREFACE. Christian peasant, except it be from sectarian idiosyn- crasies, wliicli are so uncliaritable that they become unchristian. There are other countries where the government officials are quite as venal as those of Turkey, and yet those coun- tries advance in progress and civilization. Russia stands out pre-eminent in that respect ; but in Turkey, to venality there is added an apathy in administration which is fatal to progress. Her sins of omission are even greater than those of commission. It is useless to make more laws : those which now exist are admirable, as well as the organization of the machin- ery of government ; but what is wanted is an honest and active administration. In judging of Turkey, we must remember that there is a foreign Power always ready and anxious, not only to mis- represent her, but to place every possible impediment in the way of her progress. It is useless to shut our eyes to this fact : it is patent to any one who lives in Turkey, and to any one who chooses to study the history of that coun- try for the last fifty years. In the following pages I lay before the reader my ex- perience of Turkey and her people as I actually found them. I trust that the account which I give, imperfect though it is, may yet help to dispel many of the clouds of misconception which envelop that unfortunate and well- abused country. April, 1877. OOJN"TENTS. CHAPTER I. THE VOYAGE OUT. FA8B From Liverpool to Constantinople — My Fellow-passengers — A Strange Hobby — First View of Troy — The Golden Horn — I am seized upon by Far Away Moses — Capabilities of tbe Turkish Porters — Compara- tive Merits of tbe Pera and Tberapia Hotels — Trips on tbe Bospborus — "Fire" — Variety of Nationalities — An Ethnological PLll — Bace and Religion 1 CHAPTER n. THE BUIiGAKIAHS. The Bulgarians — Their Finnic Origin — First Emigration into Thrace — Marked Difference between the Inhabitants North and South of the Balkan — Introduction of Christianity — Foundation of the Bulgarian National Church — Reign of King Simeon — War between Greeks and Bulgarians — Horrible Cruelties practiced on either side — Strong National Feeling existing among the Latter — Persecution of the Bul- garian by the Greek Church — National Schools — District of PhUip- popolis — Compulsory School-rate — Protestant Mission School at Samakov — American College on the Bosphorus — Sect of the Pauli- cians — Bulgarian Newspapers — Monastery of Rilo — Revival of the Bulgarian National Church — Spiritual Circular from the Synod — Ecclesiastical Disputes between Greeks and Bulgarians — Fomented by Russia — Cretan Insurrection — Lord Strangford — So-called Re- bellion of 1867-68 — Manufacture of that of 1876 — Administration of Justice 18 CHAPTER III. THE BOSPHORUS AND BLACK SEA. Turkish Red-tapeism — My Struggles for a Passport — To Burgas by Steamer — Undercurrents of the Bosphorus — Possible Connection be- tween it and the Caspian — The Great Flood — Bay and Town of Burgas 63 viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER lY. OTTOMAN-GKEEK StJBJECTS. PA8I Ottoman-Greek Subjects — Their First Entrance into the Country — Emi- gration of Ancient Greeks — The Greek and Russian Churches — Pan Hellenism — Town of Sisopolis — Greeks on the Black Sea Coast — Their Primitive Customs — Bitter Feeling against the Turk — Llas- sacre at Niausta — Greek Brigandage 71 CHAPTER V. "EN VOYAGE." An English Vice-Consul — Torture I — Scenery of the Black Sea Coast — Djeverli — The Bulgarian Peasants — Interior of their Houses — Their Habits and Customs — Bulgarian Dances — Bagpipes — A Funeral — A Dinner-party — The Pole Listopat — "Good dog, good dog !" — A Cir- cassian Village — Russian Philanthropy in Circassia — A Skirmish — The Knight of the Tea-pot 83 CHAPTER VI. FEOM BUBGAS TO TANBOLI. District of Burgas — Malaria Fevers — "Breakers ahead" — Jackals in Europe — "Yarin" and Procrastination — Monastery of St. Athanasius — Mineral Springs — John in a Dilemma — Value of Land — A Circas- sian Horse-dealer — Tanboli — Ancient Tumuli — ^Migration of Storks — Scandal in Stork-land— ^Pleasures of a Turkish Khan — Sheep and Covrs of the District 105 CHAPTER Vn. THE TTJEKS. Their Origin — "Western Emigration — ^Various Tribes — Their Slavery — Their Nomad Life — Wise Counsel — Their Religion — Persian Rivals — Tura and Arya — Babel— The Golden Age—Mahmoud the Ghaznivide — The Race of Seljvik — A Quiver of Sultans — Togrul Beg — Alp Arslan — The Roum Dynasty — Turkish Cavalry — The Crusaders — The Tartars ujider Genghis Khan — The Seljukian Turks — Soliman Shah — Er- toghrul and His Choice — His son Othman — Sultan Orchan allies himself with Cantacuzenus — Death of Soliman and succession of Amurath — Origin of the Janizaries — Timour and Sultan Bajazid — Battle of Angora — Ambition of Timour 121 CONTENTS. ix CHAPTER Vm. TUEKISH GOVEKBTMENT. PAQB Turkisli Government — Various Races under its Sway — Character of the Turkish Soldier — Feudal Tenure — Pillars of the State — "Sublime Porte" — Pashas and Beys — Division of Private Property — Civil Administration — Judicial Courts — Monasteries on Mount Athos — Pilgrims — Expounders of the Law, Civil and Religious — ^Mohammed n. — Educational Institutions 135 CHAPTER IX. THE FAIiL OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIEE. Siege of Constantinople — Constantine Palaeologus and Mohammed H. — Death of the Greek Emperor — A Monster Cannon — Fall of the Byz£intine Empire 155 CHAPTER X. MODEKN TTJHKISH HISTOKT. Effect of the Introduction of Artillery on the Numerical Strength of Armies — Turkish Anarchy — The Divan — Abdul Medjid — Treaty of Paris — Turkish Loan — Insurrection in Servia — ^Historical Evidence of Russian Intrigue — Difficulties of Reform 165 CHAPTER XI. EN KOUTE AGAIN. Turkish Cavalry — The Chatal Dagh — Slivmia — Cloth Factories — Turkish Justice — A Turkish Form of Friendship — Geology of the Balkan — Land of the Bulgarian Atrocities — A Turk in Adversity — A Hurri- cane — Teni Zaghra — Turkish Officials — Eski Zaghra — Anarchy in Turkey — Silk Factory — A Bedridden Interpreter — Kezanlik — Attar of Rose 199 CHAPTER XH. ACROSS THE BALKAN. Freedom of a Morning Ride — Jlounted Police — A Turkish Castle — Physical Aspect of Turkey — Central Watershed — Climate — Destruc- tion of Forests — Geological Formation — Coal and Minerals — Roman Roads — Lovtcha — Good Quarters — Tirnova — An Energetic Governor — A Turkish Resident Landed Proprietor — Hawking-rAi Turkish Dinner — A Lonely Ride 225 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER Xm. OTTOMAN SLAVES FAQE Ancient Slaves — Their Religion — Their Conversion to Christianity — Battle of Kossova — Assassination — Kara George — His Character — Rebellious Janizaries — Intiigue — Milosch — Russian Poison — Despot- ism and Misery — A Reign of Intrigue — Peace and Contentment under Alexander — More Intrigue and Rebellion — Death of Prince Michael. 240 CHAPTER XIV. TtTRKEY'S AEMY AND NAVY. Turkish Military Organization — Turkish Army Its Composition — Military Education — Nizam — Ichtiat, Redifs — Cavalry and Artillery Reserves — Material of War — Pay of Officers — Turkish Navy — Iron- clads — Naval Education — Hobart Pasha 258 CHAPTER XV. TUEKET AS A MXLITAET POWER, Ancient Organization of the Turkish Army — Strategical Bases of the Russian and Turkish Armies — Turkish Fortresses — Passes of the Balkan — Roads of Communication — Plan of Defense for Turkey — Blockade of Russian Ports 279 CHAPTER XVI. FKOM THOYAN TO SAMAKOV. Brigands — A Doctor Shot — Turkish Hospitality — A Mountain Pass — Slatitza — The Disease of Procrastination — ' ' Cut-em-ups " — The Trials of Interpretation — A Long Ride — The Great Watershed — The Meeting of the Mountains — Plains of Sofia — The Railway — The Rilo Dagh — Samakov — The American Mission — Iron — Lovely Scenery- Alarms — A Shake-Down — The Monastery of Rilo — Deer-Stalking — An Accident 298 CHAPTER XVn. THE ALBANIANS. Their Origin — Gheghas and Toskas — Illyrians and Macedonian Phalanx — Scanderbeg — Distribution of Albanian Tribes — Their Religions — Viss-Blood Feuds — Itinerant Trade — Rascians — Toskas — Albanians as Soldiers — The Pasha of Scodra 317 II ¥) tt SwJ&* Bmr^BottAfM. TURKEY. CHAPTER I. FEOM LIVEEPOOL TO CONSTANTINOPLE. From Liverpool to Constantinople — My Fellow-passengers — A Strange Hobby — First view of Troy — The Golden Horn — I am seized upon by Far Away Moses — Capabilities of Turkish Porters — Comparative Merits of the Peran and Therapian Hotels — Trips on the Bosphorus — " Fire" — Variety of Nationalities — An Ethnological Pill — Race and Religion. A VARIETY of causes, acting upon a nomadic nature, impelled me in tlie year 1874 again to "move on," and on this occasion in a direction which led through Turkey in Europe. Travelers in that country had boldly asserted that there were no roads. I therefore provided myself with all the necessary paraphernalia for leading a gypsy life ; and thinking it wiser not to be separated from my baggage, I selected the sea-route to Constantinople by the Cunard steamers from Liverpool. In traveling through unfrequented countries it is, gen- erally speaking, unadvisable to take an English servant, as they are so accustomed to luxuries that they are neither able nor willing to adapt themselves to the vicissitudes of a campaign life, and it too often happens that the master has to attend to the wants of his servant, instead of the servant assisting the master. This difficulty may be over- come by taking some well-known lad, who is apt to learn quickly, and who, like a piece of soft clay, can be mold- 2 TURKEY IN EUROPE. ed at will. I therefore selected a Chesliire boy, who had been some time in my service, and who had never left the neighborhood of his native village ; and although he ac- companied me through all my travels, he never was heard to grumble. In time he learned to make himself most useful, and having acquired the Turkish language with amazing rapid- ity, he soon became a great favorite with all classes of natives, whether Christian or Mussulman. John Lloyd is his name, and I shall always designate him as John. The 27th of June saw us, " bag and baggage," on board a splendid vessel of nearly 2,000 tons burden, and steam- ing away from Liverpool, on one of those lovely summer days which seem to have been specially created to thaw the icy English nature produced by March east winds and fogs. As we glided along the coast over a perfectly calm sea,, familiar places kept rising into view, and formed, as it were, a panoramic history of pleasant epochs of my life. Leaning over the side, I had given myself up to reverie and idleness, when I was suddenly and roughly awakened by a sailor dropping a coil of rope ui)on my unfavorite toe. Why will sailors do this ? I have noticed that on board ship no sooner does an unsick passenger sit down to make himself comfortable on deck, than some expectant tar immediately becomes seized with all the industries, and commences polishing, rubbing, and advancing with an oiled rag, until the passenger has to move, but only again to submit to a similar attack, until he is driven in despair to his bunk below, there to bury his head in the pillow, and to reflect upon the laws of motion and their relation to the digestive organs. My fellow-passengers were easily counted, as they con- sisted only of an Armenian male, and a real live Anglo- Saxon in the literal sense of the word, for his father was English and mother Saxon. The passage was monotonous, and calmer than most sea- voyages. The ship was admirably appointed, both as to FROM LIVERPOOL TO COI^STANTINOPLE. 3 officers and men, and tlie food was of that British type which recognizes merit in quantity rather than quality. The wines were extremely bad, and, of course, extremely expensive. The chief officer was quite a curiosity in mentology. He was one of those characters which would have stuck, like a limpet upon a rock, upon the imagination of Dickens, and would have afterwards been immortalized in one of his novels. A hard-headed Scotchman, a first-rate sailor and navi- gator, he, like many other people, had his craze, which consisted in looking down with lofty contempt upon such deluded mortals as supposed that light was derived from the sun ! Yet he gazed at that luminary day after day as he took its meridian altitude, and was obliged to temper his vision with the usual piece of dark-colored glass. I endeavored to reason with him on the subject, but found his mind quite impenetrable upon that point. You might as well have attempted to engrave a piece of glass with a feather. " But how," I asked, " do you account for light, if it is not derived from the sun ? " " Weel," he said, " it just comes from the eer ; but yer will be knowing all about it some day." He was of a taciturn nature, but of the few remarks which he did make, the usual one was, " Weel, and so yer think that light comes from the sun, do yer ? Weel, weel ; ha ! ha ! " and he would turn away with a contemptuous chuckle. When not on duty, or eating, or sleeping, all his spare time was occui^ied in bringing forth mysterious sounds, as of the trickling of water through a pipe, from that exceed- ingly windy instrument called a flute ; and the captain informed me that he had kno^vn him for twenty years, and that he had always fondled that flute, but had not yet arrived at a tune. Yet this man was a clever sailor and a most dependable officer. He stands out as a bril- liant example of a man with a fixed idea ; and it would 4 TURKEY m EUROPE. be an interesting scientific study to endeavor to show how it comes that his mind has the power of observing cause and effect generally, but not upon that particular object which naturally has such a powerful effect upon the senses. We touched for a few hours at Gibraltar and Malta, and in like manner at Syra, a busy and thriving Greek town, which looks from the sea like a great pile of white hat-boxes. It possesses historical interest as the birth- place of Achilles, and our visit was an appropriate prep- aration for the view of the plain of Troy on approaching the Dardanelles. On an after occasion I had the pleasure of visiting ancient Troy and the excavations of Dr. Schliemann, under the kind and learned guidance of the late Mr. Frederick Calvert, a gentleman deeply respected and regretted by every class of native in the whole neighborhood. The in- fluence which he had obtained over the people was most remarkable, and it may be taken as an example of the possibility of uniting all classes of Turkish subjects in ready obedience to a single will, when once a feeling of confidence is established. Mr. Calvert had a large farm in the immediate neighborhood of Troy, and he was sur- rounded by Greeks, Osmanlis, and Youruks, the descend- ants of the Abassides Turks, who in their nomad wander- ings spread over Asia Minor. The Youruks are a wild and lawless race, but they were ready to assist Mr. Cal- vert in any way that lay in their power. He was a sort of patriarch amongst both Christians and Mussulmans, and all looked to him for advice. He was ever ready to attend at the bed of sickness, and his skill in medicine was a great boon to the people, and the doors even of a harem were thrown open to obtain the advantage of his medical treatment. Wherever he appeared there the faces of the people immediately lighted up with a kindly welcome, and it seemed as though they could not sufficiently ex- press the gratitude and respect they felt for him. His bailiff and all the farm-laborers were Greeks, and he in- TROY. 5 formed me tliat lie found them most lionest and industri- ous ; tliey certainly seemed to work with a will. On tlie supposed site of ancient Troy four separate sets of buildings are piled one above the other, like the houses children make with a pack of cards ; but it is a stretch of the imagination to designate them as cities. The whole area upon which they stand does not cover an acre of ground, but the suxoerposition of the buildings is most curious and interesting. Each town, if we may so call it, can be distinctly traced one above the other, as well as the charred remains of the fire which must have been the cause of their successive destruction at great intervals of time. It would almost seem, from the appearance of the remains, that one town was built upon the rubbish which covered the ruins of the houses below, under the supposition at the time that it was a natural foundation, and in ignorance of the busy world which in former ages had existed beneath the new buildings. Dr. Schliemann cut a section from top to bot- tom through the hill or mound which contains all four towns, and consequently laid them bare to view. In some of the houses may be seen the great earthenware jars which were used for keeping the household stores, and the eye is attracted by numerous small and smooth dark stones dotted about here and there in the earth, and which prove, on closer inspection, to be the hand-stones used by the women for grinding corn. They are of a shape which places them prior to the ancient period when circular hand-stones were used for a similar purpose. From the remains of pottery found in the lowest town, it is supposed that the inhabitants were in a higher state of civilization than those of the town immediately above it, and who lived — who can say how many ages afterwards ? A long white line about a foot in depth proves to be formed of the cockle-sheUs thro^^Ti away by the inhabitants, who were evidently partial to that kind of shell-fish. The fourth or upj)ermost town was without doubt that of new Troy ; and many remains of magnificent white mar- 6 TURRET IN EUROPE. ble columns attest an age of art and poetry, and stand out in strong contrast to the comparatively rude buildings wMcli lie below. As the eye turns from one to the other, the mind dwells in wonder at the countless ages which have intervened be- tween the busy throng and daily task in each town, and I was forcibly reminded of that passage of the Koran which says, "Each nation hath its allotted term ; when the term has arrived, man is powerless to hasten or retard it." I will not touch upon the controversy as to the site of ancient Troy, which is so exhaustively discussed in Dr. Schliemann's work published by Mr. Murray, but return to the Dardanelles to pursue my journey. Daybreak of the fifteenth day from leaving Liverpool revealed the beautiful domes and minarets of the capital of the Sultans, rising above a sea of mist like jewels on a bed of down. Soon the white was turned to pink as the rays of the sun added their glory, the tall, dark cypress- trees loomed out like gaunt giants, the mist grew into forms, and as the vessel glided on, the capital of the old Byzantine Empire was revealed in all its gTandeur. Time here, as elsewhere, had wrought a change. Large blocks of picturesque Oriental buildings, which I remem- bered to have seen during the Crimean War, were gone, and in their place there stood great, ugly, modern edifices, de- void of all pretensions to architectural beauty, and which destroyed the general effect of Oriental scenery. They seemed to say, "Look at us! We are the produce of the Hatt-i-humayoun, the Hatt-i-cherifs, and the iLradets ! We are Stamboul reformed upon a Christian model ! " They might well be accepted as fit symbols of the ref- ormation. They are modern, ugly, and imperfect imita- tions of Western edifices, and in conjunction with the older and Eastern style, look out of place. The very cypress-trees seemed ashamed of the parxenus, and, as if to complete the desecration of the beauties of the Bospho- rus, innumerable small steamers were puffing their black DRAGOMEN IN CONSTANTINOPLE. 7 smoke in every direction, and destroying all possibility of romance by suggesting recollections of the Thames. But this is progress ! I could not help picturing some white-bearded old Turk, just ruiaed by speculating in the bonds of his country's debt, yet calmly gazing from his balcony over the scene, and as he thought of the days of his youth, when his country owed no man aught, and the Osmanli went his way in peace, he might syllogize in this wise: — "The Frank hath said that progress benefits mankind. This is progress : therefore I am benefited. Marshallah ! the Giaour is a base infidel and a dog." The traveler, on his arrival at Constantinople, vdll be surprised to find the number of Eastern acquaintances he possesses, even though he may never have visited that city. No sooner is the ship free of the health ofiicer than a hu- man tide of nations pours on board, and he is assailed by a perfect babel of voices. "How d'ye do, sir? All right, sir. I know you very well. You know me, sir; I'm Far Away Moses. I've been exj)ecting you for long time, sir. All right, sir ; come along." "I'm Demetri, sir. British Consul sent me for you, sir. AU right, sir. ^Vhere's your luggage, sir? Come along." If the traveler is wise, he will immediately show a proper respect for his Old Testament by selecting Far Away Moses, and at once confide himself to his care. The rest will then drop oif like satisfied leeches, and he can quietly and confidentially confer with his new Hebrew friend, who had been so long and anxiously expecting his arrival. He will then discover that it is a case of mistaken identity ; that Far Away Moses mistook him for his good friend Captain Spendaway, whose testimonials he pro- duces, together with many others, and assures the trav- eler that he will serve him as a faithful dragoman to the full as well as he served his former masters. As he places his foot upon Turkish soil, the traveler will be at once initiated into the mysteries of backshish. 8 TURKEY IN EUROPE. Far Away Moses will liave provided him witli either a boat or caiqne in which to glide over to a neighboring customs landing. Forthwith the important custom-house official appears, and looks partially satisfied on seeing Far Away Moses, and the satisfaction is completed as that individual places a coin in the official' s hand. The official goes to one of the trunks, looks doubtfully at it, and then feels it outside somewhat in the way that a connoisseur would pinch a fat ox. It is enough ! What- ever doubt there might have been upon his mind as to that trunk containing taxable articles has vanished, and the luggage is free to pass. The traveler must not suppose that this has been an expensive operation. The dignified official is a Turk, and by the law of the Koran all the faithful are equal ; and therefore his dignity is not ruffled by accepting a dirty sixpence, just like an ordinary hamal, or one of our own faithful " railway porters." Far Away Moses now proceeds to call the justly cele- brated Turkish hamals, or porters, to carry the luggage to the hotel. If the traveler has only two large and exceedingly heavy trunks, a large bag, a gun case, a bed, and a few odds and ends of articles, one hamal will be sufficient, but if he has as much luggage as would load an ordinary English cart, then he will require two of these men. The weights which they can carry is really marvelous. I had a large deal case containing ammunition, besides many other ponder- ous articles, and which was so heavy that I was doubtful whether two men would be able to carry it up the steep streets of Galata. To my astonishment it was placed upon the back of one hamal, and on the top of it a heavy portmanteau ! I thought of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but my pity was misplaced, for the hamal, without being asked to do so, took up my leather bag in one hand as he moved away with his wonderful load, and seemed to think nothing of it. I should strongly advise a visitor to Constantinople dur- TUERAPIA AND CONSTANTINOPLE. 9 ing eitlier the spring or summer months, not to go to the Pera hotels. They are dear and offensively odorate, while at Therapia there is an excellent hotel on the edge of the Bosphorus, and commanding much of its lovely scenery. I stopped three days at the latter place. The table d'hote was good, the breakfasts, etc., ample. I drank the wine of the country, which is given gratis, and which, mixed with water, is most wholesome and refreshing, while, taken pure, it is sufficiently inebriating to those who may hap- pen to be given to strong drinks. On leaving the hotel I asked for my bill, and the sim- plicity of the document quite gave me a shock, for I thought there must surely be some terrible after-reckon- ing ; but no, it ran thus : "To three days' board and lodg- ing, 45 francs." Let it be recorded in golden letters that the landlady of this establishment is English, and her name is Mrs. Petala. Comfortable steamers ply between Therapia and Con- stantinople for the sum of fourpence, and the trips back- wards and forwards along the smooth and beautiful waters of the Bosphorus are most enjoyable. By this means all the sights of Constantinople can be seen by day, and the pure air and charms of the Bospho- rus enjoyed by night. A trip in one of these small steamers affords a good idea of the great stride which of late years has been made in Turkey by relinquishing many of the prejudices of cus- tom. Almost every nation and religion are sometimes repre- sented amongst the passengers of one steamer, and al- though the fore part of the deck is reserved for Turkish and Christian women, yet the former, with their thin yashmaks, or vails, jostle and mix with the Giaours on entering and leaving the vessel — a possibility which would not have been even dreamt of thirty years ago. Again, in the streets of Constantinople the ladies of the harem may be seen driving about in their handsome broughams to do 10 TURKEY IN EUROPE. their shopping, and with their faces enveloped with so thin a yashmak that, like a slight clond over the sun, it but tempers the brightness M^hicli lies behind. In their private life also a marvelous change of custom has occurred. They are for the most part decked out in the latest Paris fashions, instead of the Turkish dress, and they delight to receive the visits of English and other foreign ladies — an innovation which a few years ago was of very rare occur- rence. When once the stone is set rolling who can say where it will stop ? and a few years more may see after- noon teas in Turldsh harems a favorite reunion for both sexes. Inshallah ! it will come to pass. A visitor to Constantinople, if he remains for a few days, is almost sure to hear the cry of "Yanghen var," or "Fire," as one occurs about every week. I will not assert as a fact what was told me as such, namely, that the whole of Constantinople is burnt down every twenty years by means of weekly fires, but the de- struction in this way must be very great. During my stay there upwards of two hundred and fifty houses were burnt in one day, notwithstanding the active and very efficient exertions of the fire brigade ; but the streets are so narrow, and so much wood is used in the construction of the houses, that it is exceedingly difficult to check the progress of the flames in a high wind. As I was looking at the wreck of a fire, I observed a Turk quietly poking with a stick amongst the ashes of what had once been a house, as though he was seeking for something. I found that he was the owner of the building, which had contained all that he had in the world, and that he literally stood by the complete wreck of his whole fortune. He did not, however, exhibit any signs of grief or dejection, and to my inquiries as to what he in- tended to do, he replied that his misfortune had been " written upon his forehead," that God was merciful, and would provide for the future. He was right, for the Turks are exceedingly charitable to each other, and are RACE. 11 ever ready to assist a distressed Mussulman. Another good trait in tlie character of these anti-human specimens of humanity was manifested on this occasion. From amongst the crowd a bare-footed boy, who, gamin like, was scrambling over the ruins in search of spoil, sud- denly uttered a piercing cry, and rushed shrieking over the ruins until he fell. Several Turks ran forward to his assistance with every sign of commiseration, but the Christian Pharisees passed heedless by, and merely shrugged their shoulders. The poor boy had wallied into the red-hot embers, which had almost burnt off the soles of his bare feet. The fire of fires was that of 1870, when upwards of three thousand houses were burnt to the ground. One of the most interesting sights for a visitor to Con- stantinople is to stand on the bridge of boats between Galata and Stamboul, and watch the crowd of many na- tions that passes before him. It seems as though all the nations of the universe had agreed to meet and here mingle in a common stream ; and this leads me to consider the various races which inhabit the country through which we are about to travel. To gain an intimate knowledge of Turkey in Europe and her peoples, it is absolutely necessary to examine whence and how the great variety of races came to be there, for no country in Europe, excepting, perhaps, Transylvania, exhibits such marked and distinctive characteristics of many of the races of the world. The i^opulation of Turkey is made up of a variety of nations, scattered over the whole country, and yet form- ing themselves into groups according to the number of units they contain. ISTo locality can be found where the population is exclusively of the same nationality, but a rival race crops up here and there and jostles its neighbor. We find, for instance, a quarter where the majority of the population is Bulgarian, but amongst them in consid- able numbers are Turks, Greeks, Circassians, and Gypsies. In another quarter the majority are Albanians, but they 12 TURKEY m EUROPE. again have to bear the friction of Bulgarians, Wallachs, Greeks, and Turks ; and so on all over the country. Each of these nations has its own language, religion, and customs; and it therefore follows that the difficulty of governing the mass lies in a direct ratio to the number of races represented in it ; and when it is borne in mind that in Europe alone no less than eight distinct nationalities, each with a considerable population, and several others of smaller degree, can claim the rights of Turkish subjects, some idea may be formed of the obstacles in the path of good government in Turkey. As we shall have to consider the circumstances which have rooted these various races in the laud, it will be well if, in the first place, we determine what we actually mean by the term " race." Taken in the abstract, there can be no difficulty in de- fining our meaning, as when we speak of the "human race ;" but when we come to deal with what we call races of men, and seek to determine their source, we at once find that the single thread we are endeavoring to trace to its end is but the Strand of a larger cord, which again becomes en- twined as a part of a still larger rope. Thus we find two antagonistic races side by side ; the one we call Turk, and the other Bulgarian, but when we trace them to their source they merge one into the other ; and so it is with others. There is no doubt that the cause of this effect may be traced to that great tide of emigration which has flowed from East to West as far back as history affords us knowledge of the human race until the present day, but which appears now to be at the flood, and to be about to ebb in the contrary direction. The tide has flowed from China across Asia, Europe, and America, until it has arrived at California, and completed the circle. But we now, for the first time, see a strong tendency to an Eastern emigration in the hundreds of thousands of Chinese who are pouring into California, and the increase is so rapid that it bids fair to rival the tide coming from the opposite direction. The Americans are making strenuous efforts to check this AEYA. 13 Chinese immigration, and it will be interesting to watch the effect. The great Aryan race, starting from India, overran Europe and part of Africa, leaving colonies here and there according as the soil or climate attracted them. These colonies, seizing, probably, the women of the antochthe- nes of the various countries, grew in course of time and expanded. The effect of climate and pursuits gradually altered the character as well as the appearance of the im- migrant populations. Conquest, again, introduced new blood and new languages, separate despotisms welded the units of the separate parts into separate masses, and in such manner were formed the germs of most of the races of Europe. When, then, we speak of a race of men, we do not mean that it has existed from all time on the soil upon which it lives, nor that it inherits the attributes of a single pair, but that it is an ancient family of men of marked characteristics whose pedigree is obscure. A very powerful factor in maintaining the purity of a race is religion, which, from its strongly conservative tendency, generally prevents one sect marrying into ano- ther of a different creed. This is specially manifest in Turkey, where a village may frequently be found inhab- ited by pure Turks, and near to it another occujDied by Bulgarians. They have been neighbors for nearly 400 years, and yet each keeps its distinctive character. The one is Mohammedan and the other Christian, but give them the same religion, and a century would probably amalgamate them into one people. The effect of religion upon race sometimes gives rise to very erroneous ideas as to nationality. For instance, in Bulgaria every Mohammedan village is called Turkish, and it is commonly supposed that the inhabitants are Turks, while, in point of fact, they are Bulgarians, who were converted or perverted at the conquest of the country. It is the same in Bosnia : the Turks of that country are, for the most part, Mohammedan Slaves, who at the conquest adopted the religion of the conquerors in order to escape 14 TURKEY m EUROPE. from persecution. It is interesting to note tlie change whicli difference in religion lias produced upon people of tlie same race, and living upon the same ground. The in- habitants of a Bulgarian Mohammedan village differ in many respects from their neighbors of the same race who are Christians ; the former lose the high cheek-bones and square faces of the latter, probably from intermarriage with Circassian and Turkish blood. They are also cleaner in their persons and general habits, and, it must be ac- knowledged, more truthful and sober. It is not my intention to attempt a learned disquisition on ethnology, or to trouble the reader with detailed lists of tribes which have grown into nations, and of others which have been blotted out, but it will be apposite to the subject to take a general view of the sources from which have flowed the nations whose acquaintance we are about to make. To do this we must carry back our thoughts to those earliest dates of history whose pages have been filled by the studies of philologists, and by these we find that nearly all the present races of Europe are what is called Indo-European or Aryan ; that the great stream, starting from India, flowed on and si^read over Europe ; and that the people who composed it were of sedentary rather than nomadic habits. Where nature offered attractions and ad- vantages there they halted, and these "tillers of the land " colonized until they overflowed to further genial soils. But even at that far-distant period we cannot suppose that they found the land a silent waste, and that they quietly took possession of ground which no man had ever trod ; on the contrary, it is far more probable that the new- comers won their way step by step with sword or club in hand. The conquered aborigines who were not put to the sword, or made slaves as men, or wives as women, would probably fly before the advancing hosts, and seek refuge and safety in the natural defenses of mountain ranges. Accordingly we find remnants, even in the present day, of ancient peoples who stand alone and cannot be classified ARTA. 15 with any others, and as these nations are discovered in mountainous districts, such as the Iberians of Spain, the Libyans of the Atlas, and many of the tribes of the Cau- casus, we may indulge in the probability that they repre- sent the remnants of the aborigines who were conquered by the Aryan or Indo-European host, and fled before them. In this westward march of the "noble family" of Arya two great roads were open, one through Chorazan or Modern Russia, and thence to the shores of the Black Sea and Thrace ; another from Armenia across the Cau- casus to the Danube, or by way of Asia Minor to south- em Thrace and Greece ; and upon these tracks our ances- tors, as well as those of most of the races of Europe, must have made their westward march, or, as Miiller so graph- ically describes it, the first ancestors of the Indians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Slaves, the Celts, and the Germans were living together within the same inciosure, nay, under the same roof, and two kinds of British subjects, the Indian Sepoy and the English sol- dier, now find that they are speaking a common language. Here, then, we have some of the first known stock of man spread over the land called Turkey, wedded to the aborigines, whoever they might be, and thus they passed their centuries, and grew in history to Thracians, which split asunder into tribes, which in their turn grew to nations, as DacipoUs, Getse, Odrysians, Pierians, etc. So much for the Aryan strand of the human rope ; but there is another which has a firmer tie upon this land of Turkey. To trace it we must again travel eastward, far away to the great watershed of Asia, that large elevated plateau which begets the rivers which find their way through fertile valleys, north, south, east, and west unto the sea. There is the land of Tura, of swift horses, rich pasturage, and bracing air, and it was here the Turk and Bulgarian may say that "our fathers fed their flocks." No thought or care for tillage racked their minds ; but here to-day and there to-morrow they moved their flocks and herds, their tents and families, under a free nomadic 16 TURKEY IN EUROPE. life. Those who have a knowledge of the East may see the shadow of this nomad life in the habits of shepherd tribes in the present day. The Youruks in Asia Minor move with the seasons ; on the hills in summer, dwelling in temporary villages many thousand feet above the sea, surrounded by their wives and children, their flocks and herds, they make their temporary home. As autumn approaches all their household goods are packed on horses, and, driving their flocks before them, they slowly descend to pitch their tents on plains three hundred miles or more away. In bygone ages a family of Tura was the nucleus of a tribe. The flocks increased in parity with children. The flocks, in charge of shepherd sons, split up in search of pasture, and these again multiplied the fractions of the unit which first was called a tribe, and then a nation, as it spread upon the pasture area until it touched new climes, which forced a change of habit and of aspect in both flocks and men. Thus, as time rolled on, the great Tura- nian root threw out five offshoots, and called them Ugrian, Turk, Mongolian, Tungusian, and Bhotiya races. The first two of these have, in their nomadic nature, pushed their way to Turkey, but by very different routes and climates ; and they have met so many foreign damsels by the way, that marriage and the elements have so changed their aspect and their customs that, now they are face to face on Turkish soil as Bulgarians and Osmanlis, their ancient ancestor of Tura would fail to recognize his sons. But there they are, and they have spread over the Aryan or Indo-European layer, composed of Thracians, Slaves, and Celts, on Turkish land, and mingled with it by marriage. This land of Tura was the home of swift horses ; and it is probable that it is from there that we must hail the blood of those animals which we in England prize so much. In company with the human race they made their journey, and even now we can trace their path in the direction of their home ; and the horses of the Turco- mans rival in bone and stature those of their probable TURA. 17 cousins in England, and would beat tliem out of tlie field in endurance. The climate and pasture of Arabia prob- ably reduced them to the compact and hardy horses which the Arabs love and cherish. The nomadic life of the Turanian family of men was better calculated to leave an impress of its races upon the present generation than was that of the Aryan stock, inas- much as the latter moved as conquering armies, and took to their new homes the women of the race they conquered, while the former were often followed in their migrations by the women and children of their tribe, and thus the purity of their race was better maintained. This is very marked in the case of the Bulgarians, who show such dis- tinctive physical characteristics that they are probably similar in appearance now to their ancestors, who entered the country a thousand years ago. They have married, no doubt largely, into the Slavonic layer, which they found spread over Turkey in Europe ; but the introduc- tion of their own women, who followed the wake of their conquering armies, must have helped much toward their distinctive character. These remarkable people have been brought so promi- nently before the public by the sad massacres of last year (1876), that a brief description of their entry into, and residence in, Turkey may not be uninteresting. I was liv- ing amongst them for a considerable time, and therefore had an opportunity of observing — and I may say, admir- ing — their character. 2 CHAPTER 11. THE BULGAEIANS. The Bulgarians — Their Finnish Origin — First Emigration into Thrace — Marked difference between the Inhabitants North and South of the Balkan — Introduction of Christianity — Foundation of the Bulgarian National Church — Reign of King Simeon — War between Greeks and Bulgarians — Horrible Cruelties practised on either side — Strong National feeling existing among the latter — Persecution of the Bulgarian by the Greek Church — National Schools — District of Phillipopolis — Compul- sory School-rate — Protestant Mission School at Samakov —American Col- lege on the Bosphorus — Sect of the Paulicians — Bulgarian Newspapers — ^Monastery of Rilo — Revival of the Bulgarian National Church — Spirit- ual Circular from the Synod — Ecclesiastical disputes between Greeks and Bulgarians — Fomented by Russia — Cretan Insurrection — Lord Strang- ford— So-called Rebellion of 1867-68— Manufacture of that of 1876— Administration of Justice. TOU tell me, says a traveler, that the Bulgarians are Finns from the Ugrian stock, and therefore first cousins to the Magyars of Hungary ; but how, then, does it come about that their language is a form of Slavonic, and that they are claimed as brothers by the Panslavic societies ? The answer is that, in their south-eastward march from Asia, they came upon the track of the Slavonians of the Indo-European family, and that they passed centuries amongst them. That these Finns made their way to the river Volga, and were settled about a tovm called Bolgaris, from which they took their name. In those days nations moved about like great flights of birds, and were some- times scared away by flights with sharper talons than themselves. This was the case with the Bulgarians, who, after a long sojourn between the Volga and Tanais, were scared away by the Avars, a branch of the Turkish nation 18 THE B TIL GARIANS. 10 wlio liad come by a different route from the common land of Tnra. So these crest-fallen Finns packed up bag and baggage, and started off in the year a.d. 559 for the Dan- ube, which, finding hard frozen, they crossed with ease under the direction of their great chief, Zabergan, until they stood upon the soil of Thrace. But ages before this the Indo-Europeans, probably Slavonians, had occupied the same ground, and now called their tribes under the generic term of Thracians. But not only so. The modem Slavonians, as they may be called, had but just preceded the Bulgarians in then- attack upon these Thracian cous- ins, and occupied their land and homes. Here, then, the Bulgarian Finns found themselves on thorough Slavonian ground, and among a thorough Slavonian people. Prior to this they had passed over Slavonian land, and they had also lived cheek by jowl with Turks, as Avars and Huns. They spread in a.d. 559 over Thrace, the dominion of the Byzantine Empu^e, to the very walls of Constantinople, and covered the land from the Danube to the iEgean Sea, and from Albania to the Black Sea, and there they liave remained until the present date. They now form the bulk of the population of Turkey in Europe, if we exclude Albania and the tributaries, and we might with as much reason call Northumberland England, as the district north of the Balkan Bulgaria. That district is, in point of fact, less Bulgarian than the country south of the Balkan, where the massacres took place, for that great natural mountain barrier has partially obstructed communication, and thus tended to keep up the purity of the race to the south, whilst the easy communication with the world by means of the river Danube in the north has introduced foreign blood. This difference between the Bulgarian people is very marked : south of the Balkan, the women are exceedingly ugly and virtuous ; while north of that range they are de- cidedly pretty, and rumor asserts that they are not eqiial to their southern cousins in point of morality. I have given the Finnish origin of the Bulgarians on two of the 20 TURKEY IN EVBOPE. best antliorities, namely, Prichard and Miiller, and from what I liave seen of the people, they certainly bear out all that those learned men have said of them. Although their hair is dark, and sometimes black, as adults, it is generally fair as children. The women south of the Bal- kan might pass in physical aspect as Finns ; and I have a Bulgarian in my own employ that might be taken as the original of the illustration of a male Finn in Prichard' s work on the natural history of man. But what about their Slavonic language ? Here, again, philologists assert that a Finnish as well as a Turkish element may be de- tected. The effect is probably the result of Bulgarian Finns marrying Slavonian women, and their children adopted principally the "mother tongue," and by rub- bing against the Avars and other Turkish tribes in Scythia, some portions of that language agglutinated to them by contact. A similar instance of the transition of language is visi- ble in the same race during the present day. The Bulga- rians in Macedonia border and touch the Greek popula- tion : accordingly, we find them speaking Greek as their social, and Bulgarian as their domestic, language ; but the latter is in that quarter fast disappearing. I asked some ]\Iacedonian Bulgarian peasants their nationality, and they immediately replied, "Roum," the generic name given to the Greek inhabitants of Asia Minor. They persisted that they were Greeks. " Why, then," I asked, " do you talk Bulgarian in your domestic life ? " "Because our fathers did it," was the answer ; and they added, "We have suf- fered trouble enough from being called Bulgarians, when we are Greeks." By this remark they meant that, hav- ing been under the domination of the Greek Church, they were persecuted if they attempted to assert their Bul- garian nationality, which is opposed to Pan-Hellenic schemes. After their occupation of Thrace and Macedonia in the sixth century, the Bulgarians gradually rose in power, and established the capital of their kingdom at the beau- TEE BULGARIANS. 21 tiful town of Lychnidus, tlie modern Oclirida, in the Al- banian mountains. But they were but an ^Hmperium in imjperioP The great Byzantine Empire, with its capital at Con- stantinople, checked and overshadowed them. It was a fortress which, from its geographical position, formed the key to the chief power in the country. The Bulgarians lived by the power of the sword and the bow ; their newly-adopted country was a cockpit, whereon Greek fought Greek. They were now in alliance, now at war, with some foreign intruder ; the whole country was like a stormy sea, upon which nations embarked only to meet with shipwi-eck. Hungarians, Romans, Venetians, Genoese, Tartars, Normans, Germans, and Turks, all ap- peared to be attracted to the country as a common battle- field ; and amidst the contending parties the Bulgarians, although they clung to the soil as a rural population, eventually saw their government and waning power packed away north of the Balkan, and the capital of their kingdom was moved from Ochrida, in Albania, to Tknova, near the Danube. Amidst these centuries of warfare they sometimes arrived at the very gates of Constantinople, but they never succeeded in the capture of that much- coveted city. In the present day, when we look at the mild and i^eaceful Bulgarian, who shudders at the very thought of war, we can hardly realize that they are the fierce race which are described in history as so terrible in battle. This change of nature has been brought about by the loss of their leaders, who were represented by their ancient aristocracy of princes and nobles who became Mohammedans, and by the taming effect of long subjec- tion to a despotic foreign government. Out of these thunder-clouds of war and bloodshed there emerged a bright ray of sunshine during the ninth cen- tury, when Christianity found its way to the pagan hearts of the Bulgarians. The good seed sown by St. Paul dur- ing his visit to Thessalonica had taken root, and brought forth an hundred-fold; and there in the ninth century 23 TURKEY IN EUROPE. there dwelt a Christian monk, by name Methodius, who had studied at the convent of St. Basilius Cyrillus at Con- stantinople. He was a man of genius as well as a holy man, and he visited Rome to learn the art of painting, in order to make it a means of impressing the minds of his fellows with holy subjects, and he made such progress in the art that he rose to fame. It so haj)pened that at this time the Bulgarian king, Bogaris, had acquired a taste for paintings, and had filled his galleries with pictures of ter- rible deeds of battle which were in keeping with the age. Hearing of the fame of young Methodius, he summoned him to his royal court at Tirnova, and taking him round his gallery of art, he asked the Christian monk if he could paint anything more terrible than he saw there. Metho- dius replied in the affirmative, and at once received an order to commence his picture. At last the work of art was finished, and the Christian monk carried it into the presence of the heathen king. "Show me," said Bogaris, " with what event you have rivaled all my terrible deeds of men." " Behold, O king," said Methodius, "the most terrible event that man can contemplate," and he uncovered the picture, represent- ing the "Last Judgment." The picture, together with the arguments of the monk, so worked upon the imagina- tion of the king that he requested to be baptized ; and soon afterwards, by the constant exertions of Methodius and his brother Cyrillus, the whole of the Bulgarian sub- jects were, in the year a.d. 853, converted to Christianity. These two Christian brothers were afterwards very ac- tive in converting the Slavonians, and Methodius was made Archbishop of Pannonia. Assisted by Cyrillus, he invented the Slavonian alphabet, which received the name of the "Cyrillic," and they translated the whole of the Bible into the Slavonian language. It is here that the history commences of the Bulgarian National Church, which was destined some centuries later to bring upon the nation a persecution from its Greek rival, which exceeded in animosity anything that was ex- TEE BULGARIANS. 23 perienced from Mohammedan rule. Altliougli the Bul- garian Church admitted the doctrine, disciiDline, and usages of the Greek Church, it was strictly independent, and was under primates of its own ; but for political pur- poses it sometimes voluntarily acknowledged the suprem- acy of Rome, and sometimes that of the Greek head at Constantinople. This ecclesiastical freedom it held until shortly after the overthrow of the Bulgarian kingdom and its conquest by the Turks. With the introduction of Christianity in the ninth cen- tury new life was given to the Bulgarian kingdom. Edu- cation flourished, and the schools of Constantinople were filled with Bulgarian nobles. Amongst them was a young monk of royal descent, who, notwithstanding his religious education, possessed the warlike ambition of his warrior race, which impelled him to relinquish the cowl and acce^Dt the throne, and in A.D. 888, the young Simeon became a King of Bulgaiia. He immediately commenced to establish his power by at- tacks upon the Greeks, provoked by the ill-treatment of Bulgarian merchants at Thessalonica by Stylianus, father- in-law to the reigning emperor, Leo VI. Simeon was uni- formly successful against the Greeks. He ravaged the whole of Macedonia, and then advanced to the siege of Constantinople, and imposed conditions of peace on the alarmed emxDeror. Simeon died, after a prosperous reign of forty years, during which period the Bulgarians as- pired to rank amongst the leading nations in Europe. Both art and science flourished throughout the country, and the Christian religion was fii'mly established. Dur- ing this reign a remarkable system of telegraphy was in- vented by Leo, ArchbishoxD of Salonica, who was after- wards head of the mathematical school of Magnaura, in Constantinople ; and it was extended from the borders of Syria to that city. A marked dial of a clock was kept in the castle of Lulus, near Tarsus, and a corresponding one at Constantinople. Fires, kindled at certain hours of the day, conveyed intelligence of hostile incursions, battles. 24 TURKEY IN EUROPE. conflagrations, and other incidents of war, the honr of kindling indicating the nature of the incident, according to an arranged plan marked on a dial-plate of the clocks. What would Archbishop Leo have said to a submarine telegraph to America ! The ascendency of King Simeon was so great that he obtained the title of BasUeus, or Emperor. From this period to the Turkish conquest, we find Bul- garia frequently at war with the many rival Greek em- perors ; and the horrible cruelties practiced by both sides mark the rancorous hate which existed between the foes. On one occasion, the Bulgarian king, Samuel, was defeated at the battle of Tetunium by the Emperor Basil II., who captured fifteen thousand prisoners. With bar- barous cruelty he had all their eyes put out, with the exception of one out of every hundred men, who were spared in order to conduct the blind centuries back to their native country. It is said that when King Samuel beheld his brave and mutilated troops, he fell senseless, and died two days afterwards. A remarkable feature in the history of the Bulgarians is the strong current of national feeling which existed, and still exists, amongst the people. We do not hear of insurrections amongst the Bulgarian people against their own government ; but, on the contrary, they always ap- pear as a united people, struggling for independence. This power of cohesion and strong national feeling is very apparent to any traveler who may go amongst them in the present day. They all seem most anxious and willing to sink their individuality for the common welfare of the nation ; and it is a feeling which, under proper guidance, should have great results. At the battle of Mcopolis, a.d. 1396, when the flower of the French and Hungarian chivalry were defeated by the Turks, under Bayezid, all hope of freedom for the Bul- garians passed away ; and they were henceforth to be- come Turkish subjects, and to furnish a quota of their youths to be educated as their Mussulman oppressors, un- THE BULGARIANS. 25 der the name of Janizaries. The Ottoman race was at this time rising to the pinnacle of its power ; and the capture of Constantinople, in a.d. 1453, riveted the Turks in the position of a European power, although not of the Euro- pean family. The Bulgarians as Ottoman subjects sank into oblivion under the shadow of Ottoman rule, and they had now to work under a despotic power side by side with their fonner enemies, the Greeks, but the latter people by no means abandoned the fight ; they threw away the sword, it is true, but they took up the less manly weapon of in- trigue, and handled it with cruel skill. From that day to this they have endeavored to discredit their rival fellow- subjects, the Bulgarians, in the eyes of their common government, and, with the help of a period of ecclesiasti- cal tyranny, they have added greatly to the weight of the yoke that has pressed on the necks of the unfortu- nate Bulgarians. But it may be asked, How is it that this people, greatly superior to the Greeks in point of numbers, has neverthe- less been completely outstripped by their rivals in influ- ence mth their common despotic rulers % The answer lies in the fact that after the conquest of the country by the Turks, the great body of Bulgarian nobles and men of influence were perverted to Moham- medanism. They were not probably so much under the influence of the priesthood as the peasantry, and therefore exchanged persecution as Christians for the benefit of Mohammedan subjects. The Greek upper classes, on the contrary, clung to their hierarchy, which, it must be re- membered, was firmly rooted in the capital, and they looked upon it as a center of union, by which they might eventually regain their empire. The Ottomans adopted the principle of religious toleration, and made use of the hierarchies as channels for governing their Christian subjects, hence it may be seen how infinitely superior must have been the influence of the Greeks over that of the Bulgarians. By this religious toleration the Otto- 26 TURKEY IN EUROPE. mans greatly weakened tlieir power ; had they followed the example of Mahomet, and inoculated the inhabitants of the countries they conquered with Islamism by the point of the sword, they would have brought them, at the end of two generations, all under their banner as firm believers. Fortunately for Christendom this was not done, or the power of the Turk might have spread over all Europe, and the Christian religion would have been a blessing of the past. From the time of the conquest the history of the Bul- garians blends with that of the history of Turkey in Eu- rope ; they formed the bulk of the population of the country, and theu' numerical strength ruffled the equa- nimity of the Porte, and caused them to be regarded with a jealous eye and to be ruled with an iron hand. The Ottoman-Greek j)owers, as centered in the Phanar, soon realized the importance of the influence, both eccle- siastical and civil, which became vested in the federation of theocracies under the scepter of the Sultan, and they artfully represented to the Porte that, since the Bul- garians were Greek in faith, they should be placed under the jurisdiction of the Greek Patriarch. For a long time the Porte refused to listen to the repre- sentations of the Phanar politicians, who eventually be- took themselves to fresh maneuvers to accomj)lish their object. It was insinuated that a rebellious spirit existed amongst the Bulgarians, and that the State was in danger, and every kind of intrigue was set on foot to give color to the suggestion. This was touching the Porte on its weak point, and a firmer grip upon Bulgarian liberty was the result. A long period of subjection, rural occupation, and the absence of an aristocracy, had obliterated the warlike spmt of the Bulgarian people, and nothing was farther from their thoughts, wishes, or power than rebellion, so that the Phanar insinuation was a cruel irony. The Greeks, however, were in their element when fenc- THE BULGARIANS. 27 ing with their favorite weapon, intrigue ; and in the year 1767 they gave the final thrust, and the Bulgarian Church was placed under the immediate spiritual jurisdiction of the See of Constantinople. That success was obtained through venality may be sur- mised from the following translation of the formal act of abdication made by Orsenius, the last Bulgarian primate and Patriarch of Ochrida, which was the seat of the Bulgarian ecclesiastical government, as it had once been the seat of their kingdom : " With this present voluntary resignation I, subjoined, make known that because it is impossible for me to fulfill the duties and obligations of the patriarchate of Ochrida, inasmuch as we have been the means of bringing into con- tempt the name of patriarch, thereby bringing u]3on them (Christians) persecutions and heavy losses, and similar troubles upon the Christian subjects ; and since in no way but by the abolition of the patriarchate can the flock of Christ be delivered from their hands, therefore I give in my resignation of, and free dismission from the seat of Och- rida ; retaining, however, my former Eparchia of Pelagonia (Monastir), which I retain for myself during life, as a means of living, and for my expenses." Signed, Orsenius Dolis. January, 1767. There is an evident attempt in this vague document to make a virtue of necessity, an unctuous resignation of power to save his flock from persecution, coupled with the paramount necessity of retaining his rich Eparchia of Pel- agonia for his own lifetime, and the concluding words, " for my expenses," savors much of a quidpi'o quo. No mention is made of the rest of his clergy ; but it is merely an individual resignation, and as such it was ac- cepted by the Bulgarian people and the great body of the clergy who refused stoutly to recognize the Act of Abdi- cation, and declared themselves strangers to the bargain. It soon, however, became apparent that the Porte had come to terms with the Phanar, and a stern pressure turned Bulgarian refusal into servile protest ; their bishops and 28 TURKEY IN EUROPE. clergy were dismissed, their sees and parishes were occu- pied by Greeks ; their monasteries and schools were seized, and the revenues appropriated by the Greek communities ; but the greatest blow of all was struck in the elimination of the Bulgarian language and literature from all the edu- cational establishments. The revolutionary cruelty of this sweeping measure may be realized when it is remembered that in Oriental churches the choice of the patriarchs and their councils usually lies with the body of the people. It cut the Bulgarians to the very quick, in consequence of their very marked and distinctive national character, and it is most remarkable, in studying the action of this interesting people, to observe how, under this crushing blow, they persistently and patiently retained their per- sonality, and after the lapse of a century regained without rebellion that which they had lost, and which was so dear to them. The dissemination of the Greek clergy amongst all their schools and churches, and the transmission through them of much of the civil as well as ecclesiastical power, would, it might be thought, have given them complete ascendency over the rural population ; but the reverse was the case, and it shows a remarkable cohesion in the Bul- garian people, a cohesion which may be traced from their earliest history, and which is probably destined to raise them to the front rank of nations. But the Greek persecution of this people is not singu- lar ; a still more subtle poison has been instilled into the minds of their Mohammedan rulers from the side of Rus- sia, who, while holding out the right hand of friendship, concealed a poisoned dagger in the left. Hear the words of a Bulgarian himself on these questions, written in 1868: "As for the Greeks, their first encounter with the Bul- garians was sword in hand, and they had the worst of it. Later on they made use of Turkish rule to take their re- venge, fastening on to us under it as leeches of the Phanar. THE BULGARIANS. 29 Up to this day they obstinately deny ns our ecclesiastical rights, while we on our side never lose an occasion of tes- tifying estrangement from everything which leads up to or bears xqyon the great Hellenic question. It is very evi- dent that similarity in religious forms can have no power to combine two such antipathic spirits as ours and the Greek — I use the word forms, because at bottom the Bul- garian religion is not at all that of the Greek. With him religion is more an affair of politics than anything else ; it is, in fact, his emblem of nationality. With the Bulga- rian, as with all the tme Slavs, religion is a profound and self -nurturing sentiment, abiding in the heart unmoved by the fluctuations of worldly interests. Nor do we resemble Russia any more than do other Slav communities ; we love individual liberty, and we are strongly imbued with a sense of rights of property, so that Russian centralization and communistic ideas are repugnant to us. Our language is as different from Russian as French from Italian, that is to say, certainly not enough to merge into Russian by natural fusion. Historically Russia has never taken a step to attach us to her. As her influence arose in the East, she came to consider us as an inferior sort of Slavonic race, one wholly passive, and doomed to pass under Russian rule by the mere force of circumstances. I^ot a word of us in her treaties with the Porte, for she found it best that the Greeks should wield our resources, and turn our strength to account in order to undermine the Turkish empire. . . . Our passive attitude in presence of the bands lately sent by Russia to stir us up in revolt, and our emphatic disclaimer of fellow-feeling with the Cretan insurgents, are striking proofs of our want of sympathy with Russian tendencies, and of the political independence of our own conduct.'"^ I shall presently give some proofs of the machinery of Russian intrigue for the disruption of Turkey, which, to residents in the country, is so much matter of fact that * Koprichtencki. Select Writings of Viscount Strangford. 30 TURKEY m EUROPE. cela t>a sans dire, but wliich in some quarters in England is received with such obstinate skepticism. I dwell upon the religious struggle between the Greek and Bulgarian . Churches because it underlies the history and policy of both nations since their subjection to the Turks, and it affords an insight into the character of the two peoples which is instructive. The corrupt and oppressive conduct of the Greek epis- copacy, and of the inferior clergy, so disgusted the Bul- garian people that they first took the legitimate course of memorializing the Greek Patriarch, as the head of their dominant Church, against the abuses to which they were subject, but the only answer they received was maledic- tion and spiritual rebuke. They next appealed to the Porte, who in turn consulted the Greek Patriarch at Con- stantinople, and the result was a tightening of the bands of persecution. But the persistency and patience of the Bulgarians could not be crushed ; and in 1840-45 several wealthy merchants from Philippopolis and other districts, some of whom had been educated abroad, organized a na- tional opposition to the spiritual and civic torture imposed upon their people. They worked with consummate skill and judgment, and commenced by the endeavor to quietly introduce the Bulgarian language and literature into the local schools and churches, and thus revive the national tendencies of the people. Their difficulties were great, for there was an absence of Bulgarian printing-offices in Turkey ; but they suc- ceeded in getting what they required printed and imported from abroad. No sooner, however, were the books landed than it was like a bomb-shell thrown into the midst of the Greek hierarchy, and the Patriarch instantly hurried to the Porte and obtained the confiscation of all the Bibles and books, representing most artfully that these works, being in the Slavic language, was proof of Bulgarian sym- pathy for Russia, and was but the first act of rebellion. But the work was done ; the books were in the hands of the people, and before they could be hunted up and THE BULGARIANS. 31 destroyed tlie desired effect was produced. A burst of in- dignation came forth from the people at tlie withdrawal of the only means of educating their children in their much-loved vernacular, and the organized band of leaders stepped boldly forward and demanded their right to the mother tongue. Subscriptions were raised in all the district towns, and teachers were imported from Russia and Austria. The movement was denounced by the Greek Patriarch, and every device and intrigue were used to crush it ; but the funds which had been raised cleared away the opposition of the Ottoman authorities, and permission was obtained to establish schools distinct from those of the Greeks in some of the district towns, and the first central school was triumphantly opened in Philippopolis, in 1850. Be it observed, that this success was due to the exertions of the upper class of Bulgarians — a class which had been extin- guished at the conquest of the country, but which was slowly but steadily revived by the industry of the people. From the opening of the central school at Philii:)poi3olis dates the revival of popular education amongst the Bul- garians. It struggled with difficulties until the Crimean War, but after that event it spread with amazing rapidity, and exhibited an amount of potential energy for national development which is truly wonderful. The Sandjak of Philippopolis was the central and con- trolling province of the Bulgarians in Thrace. It contains a population of 664,000, composed of Bulgarian Christians 390,000 Mohammedans, principally Bulgarians 240,000 Greeks, Albanians, and "Wallachs 10,000 Jews, Armenians, and Gypsies 24,000 6G4,000 It has 14 towns, 877 villages, and 109 tchiftliks, or private farms. 32 TURKEY IN EUROPE. Two-thirds of the villages are occupied by Bulgarians, and most of the farms are worked by them. It is a part of this district which has been the scene of the unhappy massacres during the late disturbances, which were brought about not by the Bulgarian people, but by Russian intrigue. Prior to 1850 reading and writing were considered rare accomplishments in this province, and there were hardly any schools for teaching the Bulgarian language. Before the close of 1858 there were 5 central, 8 preparatory, and 90 elementary schools, besides 7 girls' schools ; total, 110. In eight years, vi^;., in 1865, there were 6 central, 25 pre- paratory, 180 elementary, and 18 girls' schools ; total, 229. In 1870 there were one gymnasium, or central college, 6 central, 25 preparatory, 281 elementary, and 24 girls' schools ; total, 337. There were 16,500 pupils, viz., 13,885 boys, and 2,615 girls, with 346 male and 39 female teachers. The progress was still more rapid until the date of the Servian war, and the anarchy produced by the so-caUed Bulgarian rebellion of 1876. When we consider the apathy of the Ottoman Govern- ment, and the active persecution of the Greek Patriarch- ate, the rapidity of this educational advance cannot but excite our admiration. The course of instruction in these schools had a modest commencement, but increased in scope with the advance in education. At first difficulty was found in obtaining teachers, but the difficulty was promptly met by the establishment at Phillipopolis of a special training-school for teachers. In the central schools the course of instruction extends over five years, and includes the Bulgarian, Turkish, Greek, and French languages, practical arithmetic, ele- mentary mathematics, geography, Bulgarian and Turkish history, religious and moral instruction, and Church music. I visited the schools at Eski Zaghra, which contain over 500 boys and 300 girls, and they were admirably managed ; THE BULGARIANS. 33 the buildings were spacious, clean, and well ventilated, and the students cheerful and well dressed, and very intel- ligent. I was also a guest for a few days of the schoolmaster at Troyan, a town north of the Balkan (which doubtless derives its name from Trajan), and was much struck -with his intelligence and the admirable management of his school, and I have seen many others to which the same description would apply. In the gymnasium established at Philippopolis 1867-68 by special imperial sanction, besides the subjects taught at the central schools, mental and moral philosophy are added, and students are sent to it from the lower schools to complete their studies. In the preparatory schools, the course of instruction extends over four years. They are divided into two divi- sions, the upper and lower. In the gMs' schools, reading, writing, and needlework are taught ; and children of the poorer class enter at five or six, and study until twelve years of age, while those of the upper class remain up to fourteen, but seldom over sixteen years of age. In the central schools, boys remain up to seventeen, and sometimes to nineteen years of age. At first the teachers were selected from Bulgarians edu- cated in Russia ; but they were immediately denounced to the Ottoman authorities by the Greeks, as spies from that country, so it was found expedient to obtain the supply of teachers from Bulgarians educated in Turkey. The teach- ers are liberally paid, their salaries ranging from £70 to £140 per annum. They possess much influence with the country people, and are a great source of national union. Education is free for rich and poor, who sit side by side in friendly rivalry. Up to the year 1860 the school funds were derived from voluntary subscriptions and from funds bequeathed' by charitable persons ; but it was found that the administra- 3 34 TURKEY m EUROPE. tion of such funds was unsatisfactory, and tliat they were frequently misappropriated. A very important change then took place, and one which foreshadowed the rapid approach of the revival of an independent Bulgarian Church. The Bulgarians of Philippopolis, as usual, led the van, and renounced their allegiance to the supremacy of the Greek Patriarch at Constantinople ; and they followed up this bold step by appropriating the ecclesiastical domains, tenements, and revenues of the diocese, and immediately employed a part of their funds for educational purposes. Other districts in the province soon followed the lead, and each con- tributed a certain number of chosen men to form a central ' board for the management of the ecclesiastical and educa- tional interests of the province. An excellent organization was the immediate result ; and it was determined that a mixed commission of clerical and lay members should be elected annually in each dis- trict, charged with the immediate direction and control of its affairs, both local and ecclesiastical, and that each commission should act as a separate board, independent of the other, but responsible to the community at large for the supervision and promotion of public instruction. As a matter of course, all these important changes were not made without the passive sanction of the Porte, and the amount of patience and perseverance which brought them about cannot easily be measured ; but at the same time, we must credit the Ottoman Government with the progress which they at all events permitted to be carried out by their subjects. We thus see that the Bulgarian school fund is sup- ported by voluntary contributions and bequests, but there is a peculiar exception, and one which is quite novel to the practice of the country. The gymnasium at PhiMp- popolis derives its funds from a direct tax annually levied on each Bulgarian "nefouz," male inhabitant of the kasa, or district, at the rate of fifty-two paras (2id.) per head. This school-rate is compulsory, and is assessed by the TUE B UL 0ARIAN8. 35 Ottoman authorities under a special firman, and by them applied to the maintenance of the college. The tax pro- duces about £700 per annum, and is willingly paid by the inhabitants. We here get a government tax, the pro- ceeds of which are given as a government grant to a non- Mahommedan national school, an innovation which was only carried in 1868 after much agitation on the part of the Bulgarians. The Ottoman authorities frequently at- tend by invitation the public examinations and delivery of prizes at the Bulgarian schools. The craving for education amongst the people is very great ; and I was surprised to find that at a little village near the Black Sea coast at which I was staying, one of the Bulgarian rayahs, who had raised himself to compara- tive independence by his own agricultural industry, built at his own expense a very good school-house, and pro- vided a schoolmaster, for the benefit of the village com- munity. , A very important addition to the education of the country is supplied from a quarter which is so distant that it would be least expected, and that is America. The Protestant missionaries of the American Board of Foreign Missions established schools at Eski Zaghra and Philippopolis, and met with great success, not, however, without much opposition from the Bulgarian and Greek ecclesiastical party. They were obliged to move their schools to Samakov in 1870, and they are placed under the Rev. J. F. Clarke as principal. I had the pleasure of being his guest in 1874, when the new and spacious school- house had just been completed. At one time the mission counted 500 pupils in its schools, but the so-called Bul- garian insurrection of 1867-68 brought about complica- tions which necessitated the removal of the schools to Samokov, and, consequently, many of the pupils were lost. When I visited the school at the latter place in 1874 there were numerous pupils, and Mr. Clarke assured me he was making good progress. I could not help being struck by the cool courage and determination of my host, who was 36 TURKEY IN EUROPE. evidently ready to go anywhere and brave anything in pursuit of his duty, which is frequently attended with much danger. One of the missionaries lost his life from an attack by brigands, while traveling in company with his wife. The fanatical hatred of the rival Christian com- munities is also a source of danger. Mr. Clarke has been at his post during the late massacres, and as he was sur- rounded by the disturbed districts he must have been ex- posed to considerable risk. The head-quarters and Bible Society of this Mission is at Constantinople. It numbers many earnest and ener- getic men amongst its missionaries, and meets with a fair amount of success, the converts being chiefly Bulgarians. The intei'preter I engaged at Eski Zaghra to carry me through the country was a Bulgarian who had been edu- cated by this society, and who had been on a tour in America lecturing on "The Bulgarian People." He was a straightforward, honest man, and had quite the dialect, manner, and appearance of an American. I must here allude to another American educational establishment of the utmost importance ; and since it draws the great bulk of its students from the Bulgarian population, it should find a place in this part of my work. I allude to "Robert College," which was founded in 1863 at the beautiful spot, Bebek, on the Bosphorus, by the American philanthropist, Mr. Christopher Robert, and to which object he devoted the munificent sum of £20,000. The result is, that large and striking building which attracts the eye as the prominent object on ap- proaching Bebek. The principal. Dr. Cyrus Hamblin, was, I believe, his own architect, and studied utility rather than architectural effect. I cannot do better than quote Dr. Hamblin' s own words as to the object and work- ing of the college : "The idea of the college was to furnish a thorough education to the different nationalities and sects of this empire. "Each community may have excellent schools of its THE BULGARIANS. 37 own, but tliey are all defective in tlieir fundamental idea and principle. The different communities dwell together, have a great deal of business together, have a common government and common interests, and should, so far as possible, be unified by a common education. It is the truest safety of the State and of society. It is, however, a plan beset with many difficulties in its execution. Each nationality, Aimenian, Greek, Bulgarian, Jewish, Turkish, Persian, English, French, Italian, German, etc., etc., must have its language studied at length. In point of fact, about twelve languages are used at the college. How shall this not create terrible confusion ? "Is it possible to reduce such discordant material to symmetry and order ? It is evidently impossible to have the same kind of symmetry and order, and simple division and arrangement of studies, which are found in English and American institutions. But the plan pursued has been thus far successful. It demands great labor, and a large force of teachers, and numerous classes and sub- divisions of studies. "The plan is to have each student to commence his course in his own language, unless he is ah'eady well trained in it. In his own language he pursues some of the preparatory studies, such as geography, history, arith- metic, etc. At the same time he is studying English and French. The former is to be the medium of prosecuting his higher studies, and is the unifier of all the nationali- ties and sub-classes in the college. Here, finally, they all meet on common ground, and all the distinctions of race and religion are merged in common interests and pursuits. It is much to be regi'etted that so many leave as soon as they are tolerably well fitted for the counting-house, but still many have made very respectable attainments in the various studies of their course. The chief nationalities are the Bulgarian, Greek, and Armenian. "The first year the college had no Bulgarian students, the second year it had one, and in the seventh year, 39 out of 72. 38 TURKEY IN EUROPE. ''TTie Bulgarians have not only taken the lead in num- Ibers, but, to our great surprise, in scholarship. "In the single department of design (drawing), they do not exhibit any special aptitude or inaptitude. Armenians have always borne off the prizes in that department, but in all others the Bulgarians have excelled. A large pro- portion of them are earnest, persistent scholars. They have a marked social and patriotic character worthy of all praise : they will aid each other, and push forward the lagging, and patiently drill those who are far in the rear, never being satisfied unless all are moving on together. There have been instances of habits unfortunately con- tracted which could not be allowed, but generally they yield to a correct moral training. "We consider the Bulgarians a race capable of great things." I would call my reader's attention to the praiseworthy conduct of these Bulgarian students, of "never being satisfied unless all are moving on together." It is here that we arrive at the secret of the cohesion of the nation through the many centuries of trouble and persecution it has endured ; and in this particular point it is infinitely superior to the Greek in nation-making qualities, since the latter are in a constant state of ferment from an excess of individuality. In my humble opinion, the principles upon which " Robert College " is founded, viz., that of giving a com- mon education to all creeds, must form the foundation of the regeneration of Turkey. If education is made the path to civil and military employment, irrespective of creed ; if, in fact, a national university can be founded for the manufacture of educated officials, we may hope to see the door of intrigue barricaded, and Justice raising her head. For the benefit of those of my readers who take an in- terest in the subject, I give in Appendix A the prospectus and course of studies issued at Robert College. Another channel of education for the Bulgarian people is found in THE BULGARIANS. 30 the Roman Catholic Propaganda, whose agents are actively employed throughout Turkey, but in the vilaiet of Adri- anople they have not met with the same success which has attended the Protestant missions. This may be attributed to their want of tact in neglect- ing the educational movement amongst the people, and assuring them that there was no hope of their ever get- ting the sanction of the Ottoman Government to the re- vival of the Bulgarian National Church, and that their only hope of peace was to place themselves under the supremacy of Rome. The small number of converts they made were called "Uniates," bat they are now fast disappearing. There are two Roman Catholic schools in Adrianople, founded in 1863. For the last few years one of these schools has been reorganized. It is conducted by Slav priests, principally Poles of the Congregation of the Res- urrection. It is attended by seventy pupils, of whom twenty-five are boarders. Besides the "Uniates" there are other Roman Catholics called Paullcians^ who more immediately come under the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. There is a cer- tain interest attached to this missionary body, as they are supposed by some authors to be the direct descendants of the Armenian Paulicians, many thousands of whom were banished to Thrace in the tenth century by the Emperor John Zimisces. They originated in the seventh century at Samosata, and were peculiar in rejecting the Old, and holding only to the New Testament, and especially to the doctrines of St. Paul. They had a great contempt for images and relics, and denied any Divine presence in the Holy Sacrament. The founder of the sect was Constan- tine Sylvanus, who was looked upon as an apostle. They revolted against the Catholics in the ninth century, and, uniting with the Saracens, pillaged Asia Minor, but they were eventually defeated by Basil. Other authori- ties assert that they rejDresent the Bulgarian sect called the ''Bogomiles," with whom the Armenian Paulicians 40 TURKEY IN EUROPE. united shortly after they were brought into Thrace. They now form a distinct community under the immediate juris- diction of a bishop and fourteen priests, appointed by the Pope, and they number about 7,000 souls, 2,000 of whom are at Philippopolis, and the remainder are dispersed in nine villages in the vicinity. They were converted to the Roman Catholic religion about forty-five years ago, and their spiritual leaders have done their utmost to denation- alize them. They possess nine churches and two schools, one for boys and one for girls. At Salonica the Roman Catholics have a convent and school, and also a training-school for boys, and a small farm on the outskirts of the town. They have many con- verts, and here these institutions are doing much good. The Bulgarian ladies have not been idle in the work of education ; and during the last ten years they have estab- lished reading-classes and associations for the advance- ment of learning amongst their sex, and these associations also raise funds for the purchase of books for the poorer classes. One of the most popular authors of elementary school-books is Joachim Gruef, a native of Philippopolis, and the number of books printed in Bulgaria is increasing with amazing rapidity. Bulgarian newspapers are also keeping pace with the advance in general education. The first was published in 1847, and was called the Czarigrad- sky Vestnik (the "Constantinople Journal"), but its cir- culation was not very extended. An attempt had been made previously, by a Mr. J. Dobrowitz, to publish a Journal at Odessa, called IIiTozrenie ("Review of the World"), but it was immediately suppressed by the Rus- sians, because it was printed in the Bulgarian vernacular and not in Russian. If Russia is to have possession of Bulgaria, we know what will become of the present Bul- garian newspapers ! There are now several journals, but that which has the widest circulation, and which is the organ of the national party, is the Mdkedonia ("Macedo- nia"). It is the object of Russia to denationalize Bulga- ria, and consequently she discourages all national litera- TEE BULGARIANS. 41 ture ; and tlie very name is effaced from the maps nsed at the schools at Odessa and Nicolaieff, which are much fre- quented by Bulgarians. There was a Bulgarian colony in part of Bessarabia which was denied the use of its own language so long as it was imder the Russian rule, but no sooner was it an- nexed to Roumania, by the Treaty of Paris in 185G, than the Bulgarian vernacular was introduced into all the schools. Russia distributes, through her consuls, ecclesiastical books and ornaments in profusion to certain monasteries and churches. At the large monastery of Rilo, at which I was stopping for some days, a large portion of the reve- nue is derived from Russia, to the amount, I was told, of £4,000 per annum. Many of these monasteries are cen- ters of intrigue. Some of the poorer classes of the Bul- garians are selected and sent to Russia to be educated, and afterwards are returned to their own country as the secret agents of their intriguing master. The Russian consuls frequently give money on the part of their government towards the construction of a church, but seldom towards a school. The revival of the Bulgarian National Church, to be mentioned presently, has been a great obstacle to Russian intrigue, which is usually carried on through the ecclesias- tical rulers of the people. Efforts were made in 1867, by some of the leading Bul- garians, to induce the Ottoman Government to establish a special board of public instruction in Bulgaria, with power to determine all questions concerning the public and pri- vate funds appropriated to the supj)ort of the national schools, the discipline, method of instruction, jDreparation of text-books, appointment and dismissal of teachers, etc. The board to be composed of five Bulgarians elected by the people, and to be under the presidency of the Sultan's Minister for Public Instruction ; and, with a view to ena- ble the board to bestow grants for educational purposes, it was proposed to levy annually, through government 42 TURKEY IN EUROPE. agents, a school rate of two piasters (4d.) from every male Bulgarian. Such a system of government support would have been of inestimable service in encouraging and increasing the national educational movement, but the Porte was passive, and nothing was done. As may easily be surmised, the National Church question was but a corollary to that of education, and the success of the one brought success to the other. We have seen how, in many districts, the peo- ple had renounced allegiance to the supremacy of the Greek Patriarch, and had appropriated the ecclesiastical domains under the passive sanction of the Porte, and it now only required official sanction to consummate the dearest wishes of the great bulk of the Bulgarian people, and to hand back to them the control of their much-loved National Church, which had been lost for more than a cen- tury. For the benefit of those of my readers who take an interest in the subject, I give in Appendix B the full text of the firman which settled the long-pending dispute. It has been seen that the Bulgarians form the bulk of the rural j)opulation from the western frontier of Mace- donia to the Black Sea, and from the Danube to the Sea of Marmora, and that the appellation of Bulgaria given by maps to the country north of the Balkan might be paralleled by calling Northumberland England. The original capital of the country was at Ochrida, in Mace- donia. It was then removed to Tirnova, near the Danube ; and the present chief town may be placed in Philippopolis. The Bulgarians located near the Greek frontier naturally became, by force of contact, more Hellenized than their fellow-countrymen who were more distant ; and in the former case the Greek language overlay the Bulgarian — that is to say, it was the social, while the Bulgarian was the domestic, dialect. From this cause the influence of the Greek Church along the south-western frontier was in many places superior to the Bulgarian ecclesiastical power, and the border became fretted and torn by the contending interests. But from THE BULGARIANS. 43 the great bulk of the Bulgarians a loud cry of joy went forth with the promulgation of the firman, and coupled with it a cry of gratitude to their Ottoman rulers. Obe- dience to the ruling power, and an anxiety to work hand- in-hand with it, were prominent characteristics of the Bulgarian population up to the commencement of the, to them, unhappy year of 1876. They felt that under Ottoman rule for the last twenty years their position and freedom had made great advances, and that it was possible to work together in the i)ath of progress. They were eminently a law-abiding people, and the follo-vving general letter, published by the Bulgarian Synod after the granting of the firman, expresses truth- fully their relation with the Ottoman Government : A General Letter from the Holy Bulgarian Synod, and from the Bulgarian University of Constantinople, to the Bulgarian Provinces, on the event of the successful termination of the Bulgarian Church Question. Our Beloved Children and Dear Fellow-couxtrymen : It is plain that many hindrances and obstacles have been raised against the inculcation and diffusion of Christian instruction among the Bulgarians, and their prosperity in the Christian life and enlightenment. But the first and greatest of all has been the establishment amongst them of pastors from another nation, who have not known the language of this Christian people, and hence were not in a condition to lead them into the pasture of salvation. For this reason there has been so much spiritual darkness in the understanding of the Christian duties and the teaching of the Gospel. The orthodox Bulgarians, true to the faith of their fathers, have always warmly desired and earnestly wished that their churches might be intrusted to pastors taken from among themselves, whom they know, and who are acquainted with them. But the Constantinople Church, to whose judgment, as if directed by the Lord, the Bulgarian churches and the chief of their priest- hood have subjected themselves, has always rejected these our just and Christian wishes as, forsooth, unreasonable and opposed to the Gospel. In vain was every means used that our righteous de- 44 TURKEY IN EUROPE. sires miglit be satisfied in harmony and love. In vain was every effort put forth that the wishes of our hearts might be fulfilled quietly and with no worldly tumult. The Church, which we have besought with filial respect as her beloved children in Christ, has not only remained unfriendly to our desires, has not only disapproved and ridiculed our needs as fictitious, but has despised and persecuted, punished and tortured, those whom we have ap- pointed to represent to her the above-named needs. But our na- tion is not without protection. Above those who injure us, and above us who are injured, is the civil ruler, who is, for us, the servant of God for good, and who is sent for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well. This ruler is his Highness, our Sultan, who, after putting forth all possible efforts for the reconciliation of the two discordant parties, as he did not succeed, has been pleased at last to divide, ecclesiastically, the Bulgarians from the Patriarchate (as he had formerly united them), through the issuing of the necessary ap- proval in tliis by his high, and by us honored, firman, which was given us on last Saturday, the 28tli of February. And so, after so many evils, after so much unjust suffering, after ten years of laborious efforts, we see to-day the desire of our fathers, the toils and patience of the nation, and of us all rewarded and crowned under the righteous judgment and impartiality of the Imperial Government. The decision of our " question," which has drawn out our efforts and attracted our attention for so many years, is the j)lain proof of the good-will and love which the Imperial Government cherishes towards the Bulgarians. It is a bright evidence that it wishes to have us under its immediate protection and care ; it is a demonstration that it raises even us Bulgarians to the rank of its true subjects, which we have not had hitherto, because we were represented before the honored Government through other of its subjects, foreigners to us, who neither were acquainted with us, nor our life, nor our situation. But the royal firman rescues us from such a position — to-day we ourselves have the right to govern our own churches. The Bulgarian language will, without opposition, be the medium of the sacred sermon and of Christian instruction. Through it, without molestation, shall we learn our duties toward God and toward the kingdom established over iis by Him, our obligations to our neighbors and to ourselves. No one in the future will be THE BULGARIANS. 45 able to prevent onr prosperity as Christians and as a community. From this time forth no one will be able to prevent the Bulga- rians from expressing their opinions themselves — incited by no one and speaking out their own private preference — that they wish to be united with the Bulgarian Church, which, let the Bulgarians everywhere be assured, they will secure if they are in the major- ity. Let us hasten to profit by the rights which the imperial firman grants us. At the same time let us hasten to show also our gratitude to the royal throne by doubling our fidelity, devo- tion, and sincere obedience to it — in which qualities the Bulga- rians especially excel — since they will exalt our position before the Sultan's Government, which position others, enemies of the Bulgarian nation, strive to degrade by slanders and lies. This joyful and triumphant intelligence of the decision of the Bulgarian *' Question " we have that it is needful to place before you that you may rejoice in the Lord, and raise to God a grateful hymn for the long life of our sovereign emperor, tlie Sultan Ab- dul Aziz Effendim. For your fuller information and assurance the royal firman will be sent to you as soon as it is printed. President — Hakion, of Joviten, Intercessor in Christ. Paxarel, of Phillipopolis, ditto Paieseus, of Philhpopolis, ditto AuTEEM, of Widin, ditto Harion, of Makeriopolis, ditto Co7isfantino]}Ie OrtaJceng, Sd March, 1870. This circular was followed by a spiritual letter, issued just before Lent of the same year ; and I give it also in de- tail, because as the former expresses the relations between the people and their government, the latter gives an insight to the connection between the priesthood and their flock. It is also worthy of being read as an appeal to the feelings of the peox)le by parables and language which remind us of the days of the early Christians. Spiritual Circular Letter from the Bulgariai^t Synod. Reverend Priests, Honored Leaders and Elders, Blessed Trades- men, inhabitants of the divinely favored city, etc., etc., and of its surrounding district. 46 TURKEY m EUROPE. Our Beloved Children" : May grace and peace be with you from our Lord Jesus Christ, and from us also a humble prayer and blessing. Although we are bodily separated from you, yet we are always anxious for your spiritual prosperity in every good, and hence in fulfillment of our pastoral duty we have judged it best to send you the following paternal instruction appropriate to the present days. Behold, we have now reached the " Great Fast," which, in much wisdom, our orthodox Church has enjoined for our spirit- ual salvation, and for a fitting preparation for approaching the dreadful and sacred sufferings resplendent from bright deeds, and the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. As at one time there was spread out before the Hebrews the width of the Eed Sea, which it was necessary they should cross to enter into the Promised Land, so we have also now before us the wide extent of the fast, which must be passed over before we reach the radiant resurrection of Christ. As they were not terrified by the depths of the sea, but, led by their conductor and prophet, dared to enter and pass through the Red Sea, which was miracu- lously divided before them, so also we, guided by and relying upon the power and grace of our leader, the Church and her bridegroom, ought bravely and heroically to pass through the present fast. Some days ago was opened the arena of the Christian conflicts of repentance, self-restraint, and humiliation, of which virtues our mother herself, the Christian Church, gives us an examjile. Do you not see, brethren, how she leaves her beautiful garments, and clothes herself in black, as a sign of affliction and sorrow ? Do you not hear how she cries out, how sadly every day she prays to her eternal spouse for us her children ? Is there any one of her children, the orthodox Christian, who will not follow her example, who will not also himself descend clothed in bright armor, and take a part in the impending spiritual conflict in which the hon- ored ones, who have suffered lawfully, are rightfully crowned ? Will there be found one of our spiritual and pious children, the Bulgarians, who unconcernedly will rejoice in a worldly manner in the days of repentance, and by this conduct will both injure him- self and give offense to his brethren ? We do not believe that the sons of the orthodox Bulgarian Church will not listen to the voice of their mother by leading a careless and sinful life. When the appropriate time has come for repentance, for self- THE BULGARIANS. 47 restraint, for ])utting away the lusts of the flesh, and for the per- formance of good and pious deeds, it should be faithfully observed. It is little enough that it comes but once in the entire year. Perhaps there are Christians who have had it as the one aim of their thoughts and acts, to satisfy their insatiable human lusts ; but it is quite long enough that many the greater part of their lives are in bondage, not to the Gospel and its instructions, as they should be, as true followers and disciples of Jesus Christ, but to their own sinful wills. Let them follow the example of all gardeners, who, when they wish a tree to yield abundance of healthy fruit, prune it from dry and fruitless branches. Let us also purge our will from evil and unworthy impulses, that the fragrant flower of evangelical virtues may spring up and bear the good fruits of a holy and Christian life. The whole life of a Christian, ye children, should be a succession of good and pious acts, but especially now in the time of the fast. Unfortunately, however, a wrong idea, a false conception of the fast, has been diffused and propagated among many. They think that if they simply leave off some kinds of food they keep the truest fast, they fulfill abundantly the command of the Church ; and they deprive themselves of some favorite dishes, but con- tinue to get drunk and revile each other, forgetful of the fearful words of Jesus Christ, "Whosoever shall say unto his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of condemnation." They will not eat meat, but they will wrong their brother unmercifully ; they will not eat cheese, but they will grieve the innocent without mercy, and with no fear of the Lord. The Jews at one time observed such a fast without leaving off their evil deeds and works, but behold what the Lord God said concerning it through the prophet Isaiah, " Your new moons and appointed feasts my soul liateth." Indeed, the object of the fast is the weakening of the bodily appetites, and the performance of good deeds. But since different kinds of food contribute to the excitement and arousing of these appetites, therefore the Church of Christ imposes on her children relinquishment of some of them, without ceasing, at the same time, to require of us the true fast which is most beautifully and divinely described in the following hymn, *' Let us keep an acceptable fast approved of God ; the true fast is the abandonment of evil, the restraint of the tongue, 48 TUBKET IN EUROPE. the putting away of anger, tlie banishment of hist, and the for- saking of evil speaking, Ijang, and perjury." Behold, therefore, children, what is the true fast which the orthodox Church re- quires of her children : not only the deprivation of pleasant food, but, before all, the forsaking of evil and ungodly deeds. For what in truth doth it profit me that I eat no meat, but swallow down the substance of the unfortunate poor ? What gain that I taste no flesh, but I lift a cutting tongue against the innocent, and unjustly drag my brother before the courts ? See what the Holy Scripture saith in such a case, " Fast not in strife and con- tention, but love truth and peace. Put away therefore the works of darkness, and be clothed in the garments of light." Beloved children, visit regularly the churches where unceasingly flows the water of life, the divine and soul-saving instruction of Jesus Christ, where the affecting hymns which are sung do exceedingly discipline the spirit of the Cliristiau in good and holy feelings, which are the beginning and root of good actions. Attend faith- fully to the instructions of the Church, which wonderfully directs a man as to his Christian and human duties. Fulfill all the obli- gations which the orthodox Church — anxious for their salvation — enjoins upon every one of her children. Eepent and confess your sins before your father confessor. The Church has now opened a j)ath of repentance and confession, which, entering, wash yourselves from the pollution of sin, and arm yourselves with a firm and unyielding resolution to return no more to your former sinful life ; and thus cleansed and washed, approach the saving table of God the Father, that you may be innocent of the body and blood of his Son our Saviour. But afterwards, as you wear the wedding garments, unitedly follow our instructor and eternal teacher, the God Man, Jesus Christ, that we may be counted worthy also to see those great holy days in which was finished the divine work of our salvation — as again to this effect sings the orthodox Church, " We begin the sacred time of fast ; entering a spiritual conflict, we purify the soul, we purify the flesh." Thus we fast from all human lusts ; we delight our spirits with our virtue, completing it in love, that we may all attain to see the spotless Christ of God, and may rejoice in the sacred Passover. To Him belong glory, honor, and worship forever and ever. Amen. THE B UL GABIANS. 49 The piiblication of the firman was a severe blow to the Greek hierarchy, and a part of then- venom was expended by the Greek Patriarch excommunicating all Bulgarians who took advantage of the independence granted to the Bulgarian Church. As already stated, the district bordering upon Greece, of which Monastir may be called the center, was disturbed by rival religious interests, but the majority of the Bulga- rians in this district were as jealous of their new privileges as were their countrymen in Thrace. Serious difficulties soon arose in consequence of the powerful Greek element mingled with the Bulgarian. The town of Kiuprili and some neighboring villages in Macedonia petitioned the Porte to be placed under the new National Church, and a Bulgarian bishop, named Agos Milos, was granted ; but this immediately brought forth an indignant pro- test from the Greek Ecumenical Council, who repre- sented to the Porte that a Bulgarian bishop being located in a Greek diocese was contrary to the spirit of the finnan, and they insisted on his being removed. After considera- tion the Porte consented ; but such was the determination of the Bulgarian ecclesiastic to keep his post at all hazards that he adopted the Roman Catholic faith, as a cover to the administration of his own creed, and as a checkmate to the Greek party. This, of course, brought up all the Roman Catholic priests to the support of the bishop, and amidst the contending parties many disturbances occurred, so the Porte very wisely obliged the Bulgarian bishop to leave the district. The Wallachian and. Albanian Greek Christians, who are strongly represented in the neighbor- hood of Monastir, disapproved of the conduct of the Greek Patriarch in this instance, and showed a disposition to resent his assumption of power. This Wallachian sympathy was the progenitor of fur- ther disturbances, and at Kiuprili, in 1874, a quarrel arose because the Bulgarians would not permit a Wallachian woman who had died to be buried by Greek priests in the local cemetery, which was taken possession of when the 4 50 TURKEY m EUROPE. diocese was placed nnder the Exarcli. The result was a party fight with stones and sticks, and the police had to interfere to disperse the combatants, but not before one Bulgarian had been killed and several wounded. At an- other Bulgarian village, Malesh, the Greek Metropolitan of Shoumitza, insisted on visiting the people in his eccles- iastical capacity, although warned not to do so by the villagers. His persistency cost him dear, for a rabble of men, women, and children collected, and would have stoned him to death had not the neighboring Mudir (Turkish magistrate) and some Turkish peasants anived in time to rescue him. Amidst these disturbances a cir- cumstance occurred which shows the strong faith which exists, or rather existed, in the minds of the people regard- ing the all-powerful influence with the Porte of the British Government. In 1874 the Bulgarians in Macedonia, in their religious struggles, actually petitioned the British embassy to interfere in their behalf, and to have them placed under the ecclesiastical rule of the Bulgarian Ex- arch ! They even went so far as to ask whether, in the event of their becoming Protestants, the British Govern- ment would watch over their interests ! There is a sim- plicity in this proposal which is charming, but it proves that the population of Turkey is fully alive to the influ- ence possessed by the foreign embassies in the govern- ment of the country, and how easy it is for any designing foreign government to create disturbance by holding out false hopes regarding any subject which agitates the popu- lar mind. It is by this means that Russia has stirred up agitation and trouble throughout the country, and, worldng over a space of many years with one fixed and persistent policy, she has used with consummate skill the art of intrigue, and brought the unhappy country to its present state of misery. The proofs of this underhand diplomacy are everywhere apparent to any impartial inquirer who chooses to travel through the land, and the slow and subtle system of poi- THE BULGARIANS. 51 soning must ronse the indignation of any lionest man. The germ was visible after the death of Peter tlie Great, and, like a rank fungus, it has fructified by geometrical progression until it has culminated in the present crisis. The goal of Russia's ambition is the possession of Constan- tinople ; and if her empire does not burst asunder from over expansion, she will probably reach it in course of time. Her first tampering with the Bulgarians commenced in 1777, during the reign of Catherine II., who, in her dreams of the conquest of the country, christened one of her sons Alexander, and the other Constantine. But it was at the Peace of Bucharest, in 1812, that Russia gained her power of using intrigue with effect. By this treaty a right of protectorate was given to Russia over the Greek Church in certain parts of the Turkish Empire ; and as the Bulgarians, who formed the bulk of the population, were under the control of that Church, it is easy to see what a good basis of operation was thus obtained. Indirectly, it made Russia an element in the government of Turkey. This right was confirmed at the Convention of Acker- man, in 1826, and the fomentation of the Greek rebellion against Turkey soon followed. By 1828 the Bulgarians were brought to look upon Russia as the power which was to give them freedom ; but the campaign of 1828-29, although successful to the Russian arms, was fought in the midst of the Bulgarian people, and the devastation which followed the contending armies, and the final evacuation of the country by the Russians, made them regret the sympathy which they had so freely exhibited during the campaign, and which now only brought to them the in- creased persecution of their Ottoman rulers. Russian blandishments and promises are, however, skillfully made, and in a short time the Bulgarians again looked upon Russia as their future liberator ; and on the breaking out of the Crimean War, they watched the result with anxious interest. From this time, Russian influence began to wane, and a very powerful enemy arose to Russian in- trigue. This enemy was the Bulgarian educational move- 52 TURKEY IN EUROPE. ment, whicli tauglit the people how Russia had dealt with her promises to other nations, and the amount of freedom she allotted to them after they fell into her power. Much information was also derived from immi- grant Poles, who were scattered about Turkey as engineers and surveyors ; and thus the cry of anguish from Poland, as a warning voice, reached the Bulgarian people. Russia had no longer the ear of the Bulgarians, and had, there- fore, to change her tactics ; and she soon saw that, with a feeble monarch, the greatest enemy to Turkey might be realized in her own government, and, with patience and perseverance, she lured the weak Sultan to national suicide. In 1867, the Cretan insurrection having been fanned into a flame, it was necessary to back it by a rising in Bulgaria; but I cannot here give Russia credit for her usual caution, for the whole thing was a complete bungle from beginning to end. She usually stands behind the curtain and pulls the strings which work the puppets, but in this case she let the curtain fall, and the whole sham was exposed. The programme was to promote brigandage on a large scale in Bulgaria, next to show that the country was in open rebellion, and then to call for intervention. "The Comite Secret" was established at Bucharest m order to create a diversion in favor of the Cretans by a rising, however small, in Bulgaria. Russian and G-reek agents were included in this "Comite," and money and arms were freely distributed to G-reek klepti. They re- ceived orders to plunder and pillage Bulgaria, and to com- pel the inhabitants to join them. But I cannot do better, in addition to the above account, which I obtained from the country itself, than give an ex- tract from the writings of the late Lord Strangford, a straightforward English nobleman, gifted with a keen knowledge of human nature, an unusual share of common sense, and a wonderful power of expressing it. He may be taken as one of our best authorities on the Eastern Question ; and this is what he says of the so-called Bul- garian rebellion of 1867 : THE BULGARIANS. 53 "Some three weeks ago we undertook to bring clearly before our readers the exact method by which spurious insurrections were hatched and forced into existence in Turkey, with the deliberate object of establishing a suffi- cient show of anarchy, bloodshed, and massacres, calcu- lated to precipitate a diplomatic or an armed intervention on the part of the greater powers of Europe, for the pur- pose of numbing and paralyzing all Turkish Grovernment in Turkey. That was then being done by bands of brigands, recruited, subsidized, organized, and directed from without principally by a committee at Bucharest. They received orders to break out into open plunder and pillage all over Bulgaria, so as to compel the peaceable Christian peasantry to join their ranks and 'rise against their o^Dpressors,' where possible ; it being fully anticipated that the journals of the West could either be blinded to the real nature of such a movement, or else would be self- blinded, and would sympathize actively with it as a natural and spontaneous revolution on the part of those who, by the imperfect light of European public opinion, ignorant of details, and seeking refuge in generalities, would be assumed as certain to make common cause Avith their insurgent fellow-Christians of Crete. The extreme energy and activity of Midhat Pacha, governor of Bulgaria north of the Balkan, completely defeated this delectable scheme of political rattening. He made short work of the filibusters, being helped to the utmost of tJielr power by the Bulgarian Christian peasantry. " These honest men determined to clear the country of these rascals, and they turned to and hunted them down everywhere — even to the very doors, it may be, of the consulates of the guaranteeing powers. The peasantry, our readers will be pleased to remark, is the same Bulga- rian peasantry which, in our eyes, is disaffected by hy- pothesis, and which it would be quite contrary to ' our experience of the East ' not to suppose certain to be sym- pathetically affected toward the so-called Cretan insur- gents, and disposed to create a diversion on their behalf. 54 TURKEY m EUROPE. Many curious documents appear to have come to light in connection with this outbreak, to which the Turkish authorities will act msely in giving the most entire and remorseless publicity at all hazards. "For the present we confine ourselves to the summary of a simple document, apparently a letter, found on the person of one of the brigands, who was shot off-hand shortly after he was taken. "This man, Costaki by name, seems to have been a person of some little substance, who had been induced to trust his whole capital, amounting to a couple of hundred ducats, to the Bucharest Committee, under a Fenian bond, or guarantee of repayment of three times that sum out of the spoil — the spoil of Christian peasantry by ' Christian ' liberators, be it remembered, in case the movement turned out all well. " 'You have deceived me with your insurrection,' wrote the unfortunate man ; ' you sent me into Turkey expecting to find a disaffected province ready to rise, instead of a hostile people of Bulgarians, hostile in deeds, too, not only in words, for it is by Bulgarians that I am arrested and given up to the authorities. We are shot down in the plains, and starved in the mountains, and have noth- ing for it but to surrender ourselves to law. Is that the way you pretend to regenerate a people, and to work for the good of the Bulgarian race ? Is that your holy work, in the name of civilization and progress? My worldly goods are destroyed, my house is desolate, my life I am about to lay down in the flower of my age. May God smite you, and all those who act with you — smite you with a chastisement even more terrible than that which your victims are doomed to suffer ! ' "We have no comment to offer upon this, nor had we — who have long paid attention to the condition and prospects of the most numerous and the most worthy Christian race in Turkey — ever the slightest doubt about the loyalty and good sense of the Bulgarian pop- ulation, whose immediate want, in so far as they have THE BULGARIANS. 65 any, is not to turn the Turks but the Greeks out of the country."* Now I beg my reader to remember that these words were written not longer ago than 1867, by a man thor- oughly versed in the Eastern Question, and intimately acquainted with the Bulgarian peoi)le. In the following year another attempt to manufacture rebellion was made from the same quarter, and with pre- cisely similar results. At this time the Russian general Bobricoff, accompanied by six engineer officers, and en- gaged by the Russian Government, Avas making a survey of Bulgaria and Thrace. It is necessary now to remember the social state of this part of the country lying immediately north and south of the long range of the Balkan. Unto, a very recent period, the mountains had been infested by brigands — vauriens, from the Circassian, Turkish, Greek, and Bulgarian nations, and the remnants of this lawless horde were still in existence in consider- able numbers, and merely kept down by the strong arm of the law, acting through a large body of military and police. Had it not been for the energy and promptitude of Midhat Pacha, this barbarous horde of murderers would have burst its bonds and devastated the country, as it teas intended it should, do. It is asserted, I believe on good authority, that such was the influence which had been gradually gained by General Ignatieff over the weak Sul- tan Abdul Aziz, that it was intended, if the so-called Bul- garian rebellion succeeded, to call in the aid of Russian troojDS to quell it ! In 1874 I was traveling through the whole of this coun- try, and stopped in many of the villages which are now burnt and laid in ruins through the late melancholy means employed to quell imaginary rebellion. Wherever I halted I was the guest of Bulgarians, and, on some occasions, of the schoolmasters of the towns and villages. In Bulgaria, * "Select Writings of Viscount Strangford," vol. i., p. 167. 56 TURRET IN EUROPE. if information is wanted, there is no man better capable of giving it than the schoolmaster. He is the pulse of the people, and by feeling it you can judge of the state of their health. I never saw a country which looked less like the seat of rebellion. The people were prosperous, peaceful, and contented, and their whole thoughts were concentrated upon education and progress. I learned the force of the so-called rebellions of 1867-68, and was informed that foreign agents were still at work, but with- out the slightest hope of success, and that the only result of their labors was the occasional drinking of revolution- ary toasts, when heated with wine, by a few good-for- nothing Bulgarian youths, deficient in brains ; that their number was so insignificant and their influence so infini- tesimal that they were not worth mentioning. It was only eighteen months after this that the so-called rebellion occurred which resulted in the massacre of the inhabitants ! The seeds of this disturbance — for I cannot call it rebellion — were sown by the same hands as in 1867- 68, but the gTound on which they fell was in a different state of preparation. In the first case, the rest of the country was at peace. Midhat Pacha, a man of real energy and ability, was on the spot with a well-organized body of military and police, and the disturbance was crushed as soon as it had begun. In the second case, the country was plunged in civil war ; the religious fanaticism of the Turks was roused by the rebellion of some of her Christian subjects in neighboring provinces, their troops and police were scattered over the disturbed districts, their temper was irritated by the known machinations of one foreign power and the galling fetters placed upon them by others, they hourly expected Servia to declare war in their front, and they were assured that Bulgaria was going to rebel in their rear. Financial shipwreck stared them in the face, and the whole machin- ery of government was in wild disorder ; the Bulgarian people were in a state of terror at the alarming reports from the neighboring pi'ovince of Herzegovina, and at the THE BULGARIANS. 57 events which, were foreshadowed in Servia. At this mo- ment the match was put to the mine which was to explode in the Bulgarian rebellion, and there was no Midhat Pacha on the spot. The result was a panic amongst the Bulga- rians, and a panic amongst the Ottoman authorities. There is no combination of cu-cumstances more favorable for cru- elty and massacre than that of uncontrollable terror. A nation, like a man, in a panic is in a state of temporary insanity. Be it remembered that the orders in 1867-68, to the for- eign agents who were to manufacture rebellion, were "to compel the peaceable Christian peasantry to join their ranks, and rise against their oppressors." The orders were the same in 1876 ; and in abject terror some few unfortu- nate Bulgarians did join the ranks of the many ruffians that gathered in the hope of plunder, and we know the sad result. But to call this wicked plot a Bulgarian rebel- lion is a cruel insult and reproach to that i^eaceful and would-be loyal people. As an instance of the panic which reigned amongst the Ottoman authorities, I will cite one case which occurred. A telegram was received by one of the governing pashas from his superior to destroy eleven named villages, which were said to be hot-beds of insurrection. The pasha vvas about to carry his orders into effect, when some influential Bulgarians a?id Turlcs waited on him and represented their horror at the intended cruelty, stating that they knew the villages intimately, and that the inhabitants were most peaceful, industrious, and harmless, and did not harbor a thought of rebellion. They begged the pasha to accompany them to the villages, and satisfy himself of the accuracy of their assertion. He immediately did so, and, of course, found that the statement was correct. He telegraphed to that effect to his superior, and received orders to spare the villages, and thus these poor people escaped. Would that it had been so in all cases ! There is no palliation for the honlble cruelties that were committed withm the knowledge, and sometimes even by 58 TURKEY IN EUROPE. the orders, of the Ottoman authorities ; but to fasten such cruelty as an attribute peculiar to the Turkish character is a wrong. Like barbarities have been rivaled in former times by Christians on the same ground, and in the pres- ent day by Russians in Central Asia. The orders for the Bulgarian atrocities are merely instances of the cruel side of human nature, bereft by panic of its better half, mercy, and as such bear no comparison with those of Rus- sia, which were the result of cool and premeditated action. It was stated that many of the Bulgarian girls were seized by the Turks and forcibly retained in their harems. This report is partly true and partly false. Many of the girls were undoubtedly taken to the harems, sometimes forcibly, and in many cases out of charity ; but with very few exceptions these girls refuse to return to theii* homes. They find the luxury and comfort of the harem preferable to their hard life in a Bulgarian village. The downfall of Sultan Abdul Aziz completely check- mated for a time the machinations of Russia, and in what form they are again to be resumed remains to be seen. I have already said that the Bulgarians are principally a rural population, and they form the great bulk of the agricultural classes in Turkey in Europe ; but wherever it is practicable they also turn their attention to manufac- tures, and along the southern slopes of the Balkan woolen clothes and carpets are made in large quantities, but are mostly used in the country. It is difficult to form an accurate opinion of the number of the Bulgarians, or, indeed, of any other population in Turkey, as the official statistics are not to be depended upon, and I am inclined to think that the population is greatly underestimated. This may be accounted for by the corruption of Turkish officials, coupled with the fact of Christians paying a tax in lieu of military service. The head of a household knows when the tax-gatherer is coming, and orders some of the males of his family to make themselves scarce. The tax-gatherer enters the door, and feels a backshish slipped into his hand ; and THE BULOARIANS. 59 down goes the number of male occupants as three, when it is in reality five. They have another mode of taking the census, which is by counting the number of houses, and taking the average number of occupants as four in each family ; but this is evidently a rough-and-ready mode of proceeding which must be far from accurate, and it is also open to the all-powerful influence of backshish. I give in Appendix C various statistics of the Turkish populations. We have seen how, by raising their voice and not their arms, the Bulgarians obtained an independent church and national schools, and that general progress and content- ment existed ; but there can be no doubt that they inherit the remembrance, even in the present generation, of most wicked persecution approaching near to slavery, and the hardship they have now to bear is not the persecution of their governors, but the arrogance of their Mohammedan fellow-subjects who live by their side, and who, from being accustomed to see the Bulgarian Christians over-ridden, treat them -with contempt, and as though they were an in- ferior race. To their former persecution from the Otto- man authorities was added that of their Greek priesthood ; and these two combined have produced a submission and a patience under suffering which is both pitiable and ad- mirable. Some idea of what these poor people once suffered, and the reformation which has been made in their treatment within the last few years, may be formed by a description of what was going on in the district of Djumaa, on the upper Strymon, in the year 1859. This district contains thirty-two villages, of which twenty-seven are Bulgarian and five Mohammedan ; most of the villages were the property of the Mohammedan beys or aghas (gentlemen) of the place, the land being cultivated by the Bulgarians, partly as laborers and partly as rayahs, on the metayer system. The district was governed by a Mudir (magis- trate), and Medjliss (court), who sat at the iovro. of Bjumaa. 60 TURKEY m EUROPE. Tlie Medjliss, or court, was composed of Mohammedans, with one Bulgarian codja-bashi (headman) representative, but the latter did not dare to raise his voice on any subject. All the members of the Medjliss were the principal land- owners in the district : consequently, in most of the ques- tions brought before the court, they had to sit in judg- ment on themselves. The neighborhood, being mountainous, was infested by brigands, composed of Turks, Albanians, and Christians, and the beys who sat on the Medjliss were said to afford a ready asylum to these robbers, and sometimes to share in the plunder. Under such circumstances, the amount of justice received by the Bulgarians may easily be im- agined. By the metayer system, the landlord receives half the crop (after many deductions) as rent, and it is col- lected in kind. At Djumaa, the beys and aghas employed brigands to collect, not only their own share, but much besides, from the rayahs, and these Albanians in their turn plundered the villagers. The Poliak, or Albanian guard, in the service of one of the members of the Medj- liss, was attached to a village called Logotash. They gathered together seven other evil spuits, and going to a neighboring village, broke into the cottage of a Bulgarian farmer, and demanded plunder. The poor man, having nothing to give, was seized and held down while his body was seared with red-hot irons. This, of course, was not an every-day occurrence, and consequently made some sensation in the neighborhood ; and the Turkish Eegis- trar for Title Deeds, of Sofia, happening to be at Djumaa at the time, heard of the barbarity, and to his credit called on the Mudir, and had the Poliak arrested and brought before the Medjliss. At first the Albanians asserted their innocence, but the evidence was overwhelming and the Registrar firm ; so they gave up that tack, and made a clean breast of it, and declared that they acted under instructions fi'om their master and other members of the Medjliss, or court which was trying them. THE BULGARIANS. 61 This made matters disagreeable, but the indignant Reg- istrar still pressed the case to a higher court. So off to Constantinople went the principal bey, the master of the Poliak, who was a man of considerable property, and consequently of considerable influence, and made interest there with the higher powers. The result was that an or- der came that the case was not to be pressed against him, and the indignant Registrar went on his way, but not re- joicing. This may be taken as a fair sample of the customs and administration of Justice in a few of the country districts twenty years ago ; but a great change for the better has been wrought of late years. I was at this very place, Djumaa, in 1874. It was then a tolerably clean and flour- ishing to^vn, with the telegraph and an excellent high- way road passing through it. Brigandage was almost ex- tinguished, and an advanced system of agriculture (chiefly tobacco) was practiced. The same change has been real- ized in other districts throughout the country, and this, at all events, shows that the Crimean War was not fought in vain, and that it has brought some blessings to humanity. The reader will observe the armor which has been given to the Bulgarian as a defense against persecution by the revival of his j^ational Church, which throws a large share of his local government into the hands of the eccle- siastical superiors of his own nation, and at the same time creates a channel of communication leading up to Con- stantinople, by which any barefaced persecution could be made public. But, as I have said, the Bulgarians have still to bear the insolence and arrogance of their Moham- medan neighbors, and submit to it from the force of in- heritance. I will give two examples which I lately wit- nessed. In the town of Salonica, in a grain merchant's office, a Hellenized Bulgarian was transacting business with the merchant, and whilst he was in the midst of con- versation a Turk entered, sat himseK down, and at once broke up the conversation, and commenced business as though the Bulgarian was not in existence, and the man 62 TURKEY IN EUROPE. was left there standing nntil the Turk had finished. This arrogant conduct of the Turk was not habitual : had the man been a fellow-Turk, Jiowemr poor, he would have re- spectfully been given time to conclude his business. The other case is one of greater hardship. A Bulgarian farmer, in a village adjoining my estate, had his straw stack burnt. I was condoling with the man on his loss, when he told me that it was the act of an incendiary, and that he knew the culprit. "Then," I asked, "why do you not have him up before the Mudir (magistrate) ? ' ' He shrugged his shoulders, and said, "The man belongs to the Youruk (Turks') village." "What of that?" I re- plied. "Have him up, and you will get justice ; and, if you like, I will see that you have fair play." Another shrug of the shoulders. "No, thank you, Chelibi; I would rather not make enemies." I could mention many other cases, but the foregoing are fair samples of the subordination of the Christian to the Turk in every-day life. It has been brought about by long years 'of domination of one race over the other in a country not regulated by a powerful police. But this sub- jection is rapidly wearing away, and the railway and the telegraph will soon equalize the different races. CHAPTER III. THE BOSPHOEUS AND BLACK SEA. Turkish Red-tapeism — My struggles for a Passport — To Burgas by Steamer — Undercurrents of the Bosphorus — Possible connection between it and the Caspian — The Great Flood — Bay and Town of Burgas. /~\NE of my objects in visiting Turkey was to inspect ^-^ some landed estates reported for sale, and which, offered favorable investments for capital ; and, as I was anxious to see a large portion of the country, in order to be able to form an accurate opinion of its capabilities, I determined to land at Burgas, on the Black Sea coast, and inspect the neighborhood of that town, and afterwards to pass along the south side of the Balkan mountains, cross them at their western extremity to the Danubian plain, and from there make my way to Salonica, in the south. Before leaving Constantinople, I was told that it was neces- sary to provide myself with a "teskerre," or Turkish passport, to show, if required, when traveling through the country. Accordingly, I placed myself under the direction of "Far Away Moses," and was led through intricate and narrow streets for about half an hour, until we arrived at an official Turkish building, where we were told that it was necessary to cross to Stamboul to another office, about two miles off. As it was an exceedingly hot day in July, I commenced to put myself in the fashion by abusing Turkish administration ; but we have just as much red tape at home. Arrived at the office, I had to wait until another indi- vidual on the same errand had obtained what he re- quired, and during this time I had the opportunity of observing the Turkish manner of doing business. 63 64 TURKEY m EUROPE. There was a very pompous Turkish, official at a desk writing and questioning the intending traveler, and five other officials sitting round and looking on. These officers were mostly young, and their principal duties appeared to consist in paring their nails and utter- ing deep and reflective sighs. "Far Away Moses" in- formed me that these gentlemen received salaries at the rate of £30 a month, that I had witnessed their usual oc- cupation, and that there were no less than three thou- sand others in various offices usefully employed in a sim- ilar manner. Look to it, ye bondholders without dividends, for this is one of the weak and extravagant points of Turkish administration. There are usually three officials helping a fourth to do nothing. The difficulty at Constantinople is to obtain accurate in- formation upon any subject, either from Turks or Franks. No sooner had I provided myself with the " teskerre," than I M^as told that a " booyutoo " was the proper pass- port to have, that it was a much grander document, and would be an "open sesame" wherever I might go on Turkish soil. It is obtained direct from the Grand Yizier, or fi'om the Vali, or governor-general of a district vilaiet, through the ambassador or consul representing the nation- ality of the traveler, and if it is produced to the magis- trate of any district it immediately commands the greatest attention and assistance, while the production of a " tes- kerre " shows that the traveler is but an ordinary individ- ual, not deserving much consideration. I afterwards pro- cured a "booyutoo," but I had to produce it only once throughout the whole of my travels, and yet always met with the greatest kindness, civility, and hospitality wher- ever I went. Curiously enough the occasion of my having to produce the "booyutoo" occurred on the waters of the Bosphorus, when I was passing from one steamer to another with my luggage in a caique, and was stopped by one of the water custom-house officers. The man insisted on examining my luggage, but I happened to be in a hurry THE BOSPUORUS AND BLACK SEA. 65 and a bad temper at the time, and therefore all the obsti- nacy of the Briton rose -within me, and I firmly refused, knowing that the demand was only an excuse for back- shish. The man persisted, and the steam whistle was blowing the signal for a start, so I indignantly spread out my "booyutoo" within an inch of the man's nose, and the boatman accompanied the tragic act by a crescendo expostulation. The effect was instantaneous, and the man who had been rather impertinent before now completely changed his manner, as he looked gravely at the docu- ment, which he folded uj) carefully, as though he regard- ed it with the deepest resjDect, and, returning it to me with a salute, politely begged me to pass on. I pondered over the Mohammedan law, which asserts that all men are equal ! I soon found myself on board the Austrian Lloyd steamer, Thetis, bound for Galatz, xia Burgas and Yar- na. It was perfect pandemonium. The decks were crowd- ed vdth passengers, Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Negroes, Circassians, Bulgarians, Germans, Dutch, French, Italians, Americans, Scotch, and I and my servant added the Eng- lish element. They were nearly all talking, shouting, and gesticulating. There were nearly twenty horses on board, neighing, squealing, and kicking ; there were dogs bark- ing and whining, the donkey engine fizzed and rattled, the captain was bawling and swearing, the screw was thump- ing and bumping, the steam was roaring and spluttering, and I was grumbling and muttering. The waters of Lo- dore were a joke to the hubbub. Truly this city of the East must be a wonderful place, to attract all these nations to a common center ! There must have been a special Providence over this steamer, otherwise we should have all been burnt, as the decks were piled vdth hay, which again was piled with men who were all smoking cigarettes. I called the attention of the captain to the fact, and received the foreign expressive reply of a shrug of the shoulders, as much as to say, "Men, like chimneys, are made to smoke ;" and so I tried to think it was quite natural and pleasant, and went be- 66 TURRET IN EUROPE. low, where I must do the steamer justice by saying that everything was very comfortable. In steaming along the Bosphorus the attention is at- tracted to the rapidity of the surface current, which is running at about three miles an hour from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmora ; and on emerging into the former sea we observe some curious volcanic rocks, which are the celebrated Cyanean gates. There is a connection between these rocks and the strong current ; and Nature is here silently finishing a great work. This subject is one of such deep interest that I shall dwell upon it for a time, in the hope that it may have attractions for my reader. Although there is such a strong surface current from one sea to the other through the Bosphorus, if from a small boat a weighted bucket with a rope attached be sunk to some depth, it is found that there is such a power- ful under-current in the opposite direction that it will actually, by means of the sunken bucket, tow the boat against the upper stream. Different explanations have been given as to the cause of these opposite currents, and Maury attributes it to the difference in specific gravity between the surface and under water, and the effort of the two to find theu' level ; for it has been proved by experiment that the water at the bottom is more impregnated with salt, and therefore heavier than the water at the top. Another more probable explanation is founded on the supposition that there is underground communication be- tween the Caspian and the Black Sea ; and that the level of the former being much lower than that of the latter, the water is sucked from below through this underground channel, thus creating an under-current in that direction from the Sea of Marmora through the Bosphorus and Black Sea to the Caspian, while the upper current flows by reason of difference of level in the contrary direction, namely, from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmora. This supposition requires that the level of the Caspian should be lower than that of the Black Sea, and the level THE BOSPEORUS AND BLACK SEA. 67 of the latter higher than the Mediterranean ; and if we assume that there is an underground communication be- tween the two seas, the laws of hydraulics would then be satisfied, and the i^henomenon would be explained. Now, Sir Roderick Murchison made the level of the Caspian 83 '6 feet lower than the Black Sea, so that part of the problem is satisfied, and we know that the surface level of the Black Sea is higher than the MediteiTanean, therefore we only require to prove the underground channel. This is stated to exist at the south-eastern shore, in the direc- tion of Tiflis, but there are many reasons for supposing that it may be by the Sea of Azof. We are told by ancient writers that the Black Sea, the Sea of Azof, and the Caspian were originally one, and that this great inland water was pent up to a considerably higher level than the Propontis and Mediterranean by the exceedingly narrow passage formed by the Cyanean Isles at the mouth of the Bosphorus. That about 1530 years before Christ a vol- canic eruption destroyed the greater part of this barrier, and the waters thus freed from confinement rushed into the Propontis, thence by the Hellespont to the Mediter- ranean, producing a great flood, and deluging the lower countries of Asia Minor, Thrace, Greece, Egypt, and Libya. Strabo, Zanthus, Diodorus, and many other ancient au- thors allude to this great inundation. The pages of history, which are unfolded for us by geo- logical research, confirm this ancient tradition in a very remarkable manner. The whole of the land lying between the Caspian and the Sea of Azof is composed of marine deposit, similar to that of the Caspian in the present day ; and there are marked signs of sea-clifPs where all is now dry land. Again, in the higher rocks at the mouth of the Bosphorus there are unmistakable signs of the abrasion of the rocks by an immense torrent of water flowing from the Black Sea through the Bosphorus. It is true that the elevation of the land between the Sea of Azof and the Caspian amounts in one place to 237 feet above the former ; but it is quite possible that the land is 68 TURKEY IN EUROPE. being gradually upheaved by volcanic action, as there are mud volcanoes in the immediate neighborliood, and we can hardly suj)pose it possible that the level of the Black Sea before the great flood already mentioned rose to such an extreme height. The mud volcanoes near Yenicale, and the salt marshes and lakes in the isthmus near the Caspian, all point to an underground connection. The difference of level which exists between the Caspian and the Black Sea may be accounted for by the extraor- dinary amount of desiccation which we know to be going on in the former sea, which is rapidly diminishing in size. Some idea of this may be formed when we find that in the time of Herodotus, who personally visited those districts, there were rivers east of the Bug navigable for ships for some distance, while in the present day there are no rivers there at all ! The Black Sea, also, is decreasing in size, for Herodotus asserts that he made the measurements himseK, and gives the width from Sindica to Themiscyra, on the river Ther- modon, as 3,300 stades, and the length from the mouth of the Phasis to the Bosphorus, 11,100 stades. ProcoiDius makes the length a little longer than Herodotus, and both accounts exceed by more than a third the length of the sea in the present day ; but when the physical character of the country which borders the Black Sea is examined, it is difficult to acknowledge the accuracy of these meas- urements. At the same time, they point to the fact that a great reduction of the area of water has taken place. Now, what do we learn from all these geological and historical facts ? That there was originally a great inland sea, pent in by the Cyanean gates, and that by some great volcanic erup- tion those obstructing rocks were suddenly removed, and thus allowed the great expanse of water to rush violently through the BosjDhorus to find their level in the Mediter- ranean, and to flood the countiies even unto Egypt and Libya. That as the level of the water feU, land appeared THE BOSPHOR US AND BLACK SEA. 69 where before all was sea, and the isthmus between the Caspian and the Sea of Azof was formed. Desiccation by evaporation was now so great that it far exceeded the supply of water by rivers to the Caspian, and there was and is reactionary reduction here, since rivers are only formed by the evaporation of water from neighboring seas, so that as this great inland sea ran out by the Bosphorus, so in like proportion did the rivers run dry. It is therefore certain that in some far distant future, according to our estimate of time, the plow ^vill be turn- ing up the rich soil, and there will be golden fields of wheat on the land which now lies at the bottom of the Caspian. Ten hours after we had passed the Cyanean gates we were steaming into the large Bay of Burgas, formed by Cape Emineh on the north, where the ancient Hsemus, or modern Balkan, dips into the sea, and on the south by the promontory which is terminated by the Greek town of Sisopolis. The Bay of Burgas offers the only good harbor between the Bosphorus and the Danube ; and for this, as well as for strategical and commercial reasons, it is a place of great imi)ortance. On the northern side of the bay are the two ancient Greek towns of Anchialus and Mesembria ; and the latter would well repay a visit from an arclijeolo- gist. It was a colony of the Megarians, and its original name was Melsembria, from its founder Melsas — the termi- nation hria being supposed to have been the Thracian word for town. It was to this place that the lonians fled from Byzantium after the suppression of their revolt, B.C. 493. I saw some very beautiful and perfect specimens of Byzantine architecture in the town in the form of ruins of ancient churches, said to have been erected by nobles who were banished to this spot during the Byzantine empire. They are built of small red bricks, which are here and there studded Avith small concave, colored, and glazed tiles, which are still in a most perfect state of preservation. 70 TURKEY IN EUROPE. The buildings are all dome-sliaped. The town is essen- tially Greek in the present day ; and it is highly prob- able that many of the inhabitants are the descendants of the ancient lonians who migrated there more than two thousand three hundred years ago. There are many Greek towns scattered along this coast, and amongst them are the live cities which formed the Greek Pentapolis, namely, Istriani (Kustendje), Tomi (Mangalia), Odessus (Varna), Mesembria, and Apollonia (Sisopolis). Being seaport towns, it is not probable that the ancient Greek blood has been handed down with much purity ; but that it is present there can be little doubt. As we are now amongst Greeks, I will take the oppor- tunity of giving a brief sketch of the Greek subjects of Turkey in Europe. CHAPTER IV. OTTOMAN-GKEEK SUBJECTS. Ottoman -Greek subjects — Their first Entrance into the Country — Emigration of Ancient Greeks — The Greek and Russian Churches — Pan-Hellenism — Town of Sisopolis — Greeks on the Black Sea coast — Their primitive cus- toms — Bitter feeling against the Turk — Massacre at Niausta — Greek Brigandage. ALTHOUGH the Greeks, both in ancient and modem times, have been connected with the Government of Turkey in Europe in many important particulars, they have not had much influence in the diffusion of their blood amongst the population. Excepting in Thessaly and Epirus, and in Salonica, and some of the large towns, the bulk of the population is Bulgarian, grafted upon the Thracian and probably Slavonic stock. The Bulgarian occupation of the country was that of emigration, sword in hand, and the families followed in the wake of con- quest, and i)eopled the land. The Greek and also the Ottoman occupation was that of conquest alone, and the small emigTation of these races which followed was only the result of commercial enterprise. Hence we find that the real Greek and Ottoman population of Turkey in Europe in the present day are but insignificant as com- pared with the Bulgarians. Many of the published sta- tistics would lead to a contrary conclusion, as we fre- quently see the Greek population put down at a figure of millions ; but this arose from the fact of the Bulgarians being dominated by the Greek Church of Constantinople, and, therefore, from political as well as for Church pur- poses, they were designated as Greeks. Ubicini gives the number of Greeks in the Turkish Em- 71 72 TURKEY m EUROPE. pii'e as two millions, of which, lie says, less than half are in Europe. Excluding Thessaly, and Epirus, and the Islands, I believe the number in Turkey in Europe would not exceed 500,000 ; and these are iwincipally found in Con- stantinople, and among the towns on the sea-coast, and the largest towns in the interior. The common term for a Greek amongst the natives is "Roum," Roman. There is probably more ancient Greek blood to be found in Turkey than in modern Greece. The early Greeks settled in Asia Minor, have remained there to the present day, and the Phanariotes can date their occupation of the soil from the earliest history of Byzantium. The country has been so oveiTun with Persians, Goths, Huns, Bulgarians, Venetians, and Turks, that the purity of blood of any nation inhabiting the to^vns on the sea- coast must be much diluted. Whether the ancient Greeks were of Slavonian, Italian, or Egyptian blood, cannot be proved ; but Latham seems to arrive at the conclusion that they were a mixture of the three. So that if the an- cient Thracians were of Slavonian origin, as is suggested, the Greek settlers might have been hailed by them as cousins of some indefinite degree. The frequent occur- rence of the name Heraclea (corrupted into Ereklia, Arakli), which still clings to many towns both in Turkey in Asia and Turkey in Europe, testifies to the antiquity of the Greek inhabitants, for it was the custom of both the Bulgarian and Turkish invaders to give new names to their new settlements ; but, as the country was successively overrun, the inhabitants of the same nationality kept grouping themselves into separate towns and villages, in order to enjoy their habitual social customs, and they have, in many instances, probably remained on the same ground to the present day. Some of the villages in Turkey, especially amongst the mountains, may, therefore, be of great antiquity, and it might throw much light upon the ancient history of the country if the ethnologist and j)hilologist would study the villages in the interior. The time will soon be past for doing so with profit, as railways OTTOMAN GREEKS. 73 are pushing their way into the land, and when once com- munication is made easy the traces of antiquity will begin to diminish. By pitching his tent on the mountains dur- ing the summer, and in the plains during the winter, the ethnologist might enjoy one of the healthiest climates in the world, and he would meet with the greatest hospitality and civility. As far as we can jiidge, the ancient and modern Greeks of Turkey show similarity of character in their pursuits, which, when not diverted by war, were commercial. They do not appear to have spread over Turkey in Europe and peopled it, but rather to have been attracted to the points which offered the greatest facilities for commerce, and there remained to carry on their trade with the people of the country. Grote tells us that it was the policy of the Persians to give as far as possible autonomy to all the Greek towns of Thrace, both small and great, and the ad- vantage of this policy was recognized by their predeces- sors as well as by their successors. The excess of individuality in the Greek character was evidently well understood, and it was discerned that if each town were left to govern itself there would be less chance of united action from the whole body. In after years, under Ottoman rule, the Greeks recognized their weakness, and endeavored to strengthen their position by Hellenizing (if I may so use the word) the Bulgarian population of Turkey from the source of the Greek Church. The experiment had a fair trial, but Bulgarian nation- ality was too strong to be smothered, and it burst the bonds of ecclesiastical subjection. The strength of this nationality becomes the more conspicuous, because the rites and doctrines of both churches are so similar that there is practically little difference between the two, so that in overlaying the Bulgarians with the Greek Church there were no religious prejudices to overcome. Again, it might be thought that success would be in- sured, since at the time of the trial the only education 74 TURRET m EUROPE. given to tlie peasant classes was through the priesthood, and care was taken that these should all be Greeks. But it was of no use ; the experiment was a complete failui-e, although it had a trial of a hundi-ed years, and at the end of that time the Bulgarian crowed out his strong nationality at the da^\Ti of his revived Church. The failure may be attributed to two causes, each of which reacted upon the other, viz., the love of the Bul- garian for his mother-tongue, and the neglect of the Greeks to oust it — not by force, but by adequate Greek elementary educational establishments. The failure has added much to the complexity of gov- ernment in Turkey, as the antipathy between the two races is now intense, and forms a species of yeast to keep up the fermentation amongst the peoples of that unhappy country. Looking then at the Greek presence in Turkey, we find that their first entry dates from the mythical ^olian, Do- rian, and Ionian emigrations to Asia Minor, from whence they passed over to the coast of Thrace, and established themselves in the seaport towns, probably for the purposes of trade, but they still looked to their mother-country as their head. Under them Byzantium grew in importance and power, until through it the greater part of Thrace was ruled by a military despotism. In B.C. 168, when Perseus, the last King of Macedonia, was defeated by ^milius Paulus, the Roman arms began to overshadow Greece, and twenty-two years after, it be- came a Roman province, but Greek trade still flourished at Byzantium and on the coast. When the Roman Empe- ror Constantine transferred the seat of government to By- zantium, and gave it his name, Greece commenced a new reign under the changed title of the Byzantine Empire, and in course of time Greeks became Roman emperors. The Byzantine Empire over what we now call Turkey in Europe was but a military despotism over a subjugated people, and the Greeks did not populate any material portion of the country. After the conquest of the coun- OTTOMAN GliEEES. 75 try by tlie Turks, altliougli the maclimery of government was of TurkisL. workmansliip, it liad to be set in motion by Greek engineers. The Ottomans found themselves mas- ters of a population which did not understand then* lan- guage, and they had to make the Greeks their medium of communication with theu" new subjects. This necessarily brought the Greeks into close contact with the governing power, and they made such good use of the opportunity that the influence of the Phanar became proverbial. The dying words of Sultan Othman recommended religious toleration over his new conquests, and the respect which was paid to his injunctions gave a power to the Greek Patriarchs which was hardly less than that of the Sheiks ul Islam. The Ottomans, not knowing how to communicate ^^4th their subjects, took advantage of the ecclesiastical organi- zation of the Greek Church, and placed a large share of the civil power into its hands, and thus the minority ruled the majority of the Christian subjects. But the power of the Greek Church was not supported by Otto- man subjects only ; it ranged over an immense area in Russia ; and this connection with the arch-enemy of the Turks made it a very dangerous, and, it may possibly prove, fatal element in Ottoman government. The origin of the Oriental or Orthodox Church of the East is un- certain. The Greeks claim that it was founded by the apostle St. Andrew. It is certain that there were Chris- tians in Byzantium in the time of Severus. It was, and is, governed by four Patriarchs, at Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem. The Patriarch of Constantinople was originally at the head of the whole of the Russian Church ; but toward the close of the sixteenth century a fifth Patriarch was appointed at Moscow. This office was suppressed by Peter the Great, and since his reign the Russian Church has been governed by a synod of her own bishops. The Church of Servia also seceded from the see of Constanti- nople, and lately (1872) that of Bulgaria, so that its power 76 TURKEY IN EUROPE. is gradually being curtailed. The points of difference be- tween the Greek and the Roman Churches consist princi- pally in the former refusing to acknowledge the supremacy of the latter ; but they also differ on the doctrine of pur- gatory, and the Nicene Creed, and in the celibacy of the clergy. Tlie Greek priests who are met with in the coun- try districts of Turkey are, generally speaking, but partial- ly educated men, who live by exactions from their flock. Their power over the people in Macedonia is far less than in Bulgaria and Roumelia. Many religious observances are commanded, but they are too often accompanied by a heavy charge ; and the poor peasant is mulcted of what little is left him after deductions for taxes, and the result of his careless cultivation. So long as Greece proper formed part of the Turkish EmiDu-e, the Greeks exercised a very powerful influence on the Porte ; but since 1829 the great bulk of the Greek population has been cut adrift from Turkey, and with it the influence it formerly possessed. The dream of Greek ambition is the re-establishment of the Byzantine Empire, and had she dealt in a more liberal spirit when she possessed the ecclesiastical government of the Bulgarian people, she might by this time have so Hellenized them as to make such a dream possible of re- alization. As it is, a bitter enmity has been established with the bulk of the very people the new Byzantine Em- pire would have to govern ; and any attempt to establish such a rule would raise a storm of indignation. Besides this, it would be opposed to the Pan- Slavonic scheme, and thus raise such a host of enemies in the north and east as to comj)letely crush the feeble power of the Pan-Hellenic rival. The religious toleration of Mohammedan Turkey would hardly be copied by Christian Greece, and Greek rule at Constantinople would mean a Greek Church for the Bul- garians, and the last state of discord would be worse than the first, judging by the bitterness which is now rampant. OTTOMAN GREEKS. 77 There is a vulgar saying that in either a bargain or in- trigue one Armenian can outwit two Jews, and one Greek two Armenians, and the unenviable talent of the Greek is left to the imagination. My own experience of the Greeks in Turkey is that they are a most industrious, energetic, and hospitable race, and just as truthful as other Christians in that country. They are now suffering from an epidemic of education, and if they are not careful, too much learning will make them mad. If a respectable country farmer has a son, he is not brought up to look after his business, but is packed off to Athens to be educated out of it. He is naturally clever (all Greeks are), and takes a fair degree at the university, and then aims at being either a doctor, a lawyer, or poli- tician. Now the demand for doctors and lawyers is lim- ited, that for politicians is not ; so the consequence is that Athens is flooded with a set of young aspu-ants, each of whom thinks he is destined to be prime minister, and to reestablish the Byzantine Empire. This would be a laud- able ambition, and do no harm, if it were not for the ex- traordinary amount of energy in the Greek character. Each young aspirant immediately sets vigorously to work to satisfy his ambition ; but unfortunately each wishes to do it precisely in his own way, and no other. The conse- quence is that there are almost as many political parties in the state as there are politicians, and the work of an energetic government is hampered as much as it can pos- sibly be. By and by the peasant farmer will die, and the country farm will be uncultivated and unproductive, while the son is making speeches and losing money. There is a marked difference between the Greek settlers in the towns of the Black Sea coast and those of the Ma- cedonian frontier, not so much in physical characteristics as in their customs and social ways. The former are more. Oriental than the latter, and not so advanced in what we generally understand by the term civilization. This might be seized upon as a strong argument that the cause of this effect is the pernicious rule of the Ottoman, which has 78 TURKEY m EUROPE. more infliience on the Greek race bordering tlie Black Sea than on the same race in contact with its independ- ent and mother-country. But unfortunately for this specious argument, it is upset— like many other hasty conclusions in Turkey— and its converse is found by a journey of a few miles into the interior, where another race, the Bulgarian, is met, which is far more advanced in civilization than the same people on the Macedonian frontier. The Greeks on the Black Sea coast are certainly the most dirty people it has ever been my fortune to meet, and the town of Sisopolis, at the entrance of the Bay of Burgas, stands out pre-eminent in that respect. It must be by nature an extremely healthy place, otherwise some fearful epidemic would break out, if there is any truth in sanitary laws. If any of my readers think of visiting it, I should advise them to construct some sort of "patent waterproof anti-sewage umbrella," with a receptacle for eau de Cologne in the handle — for the streets are so nar- row that the houses nearly meet across them, and all the sewage and ordure falls into the streets from the iDroject- ing first floors. I had so many narrow escapes from these sewage shower-baths, that out of respect to my nervous system I left the town. The people seem to live well, for in front of about every third or fourth house a sheep was being slaughtered ; but this does not add to the cleanliness of the town, for all the blood and refuse is left to pollute pollution. I have seen much of the Greeks in Turkey since that time, and there is no doubt that they are content to live in an absence of not only luxury, but ordinary comfort, which is astonishing, and would be laudable if it were accompanied by cleanliness. There is no want of ventilation in their houses, for the wind moans and whistles through them in a melancholy chorus. But cold and wet as are the winters, the Greek will come into his house and complacently sit down in his wet clothes, in a thorough draught, until he dries, and OTTOMAN GREEKS. 79 the aggravating part of it is that lie is not aware that he is doing anything which is uncomfortable. If there is a visitor present he honors his guest with a "mangal," a dreadful contrivance for poisoning the air of a room with carbonic acid gas, produced by a quantity of red-hot charcoal in a brazier i^laced in the middle of the room. The furniture is generally conspicuous by its absence, and usually consists of only a divan, covered, as well as the floor, \vith a pretty carpet. ^Ylien it is time for bed, a quilt and a pillow are brought in for each visit- or, and the company rolls itself up to snore under an alle- gro agitato accompaniment of B flats and F sharps. The ablutions in the morning are performed in the veranda, where may be espied a small brass basin on a wooden sink projecting over the street. The basin is covered with a brass network, culminating in the center with a receptacle for a pretty, medieval-looking brass coffee-pot, with a very small spout, and capable of holding as near as possible an imperial quart of water. The inexperienced traveler, having unrolled himself from his lively quilt, hovers about the medieval brass vessel and thinks of coffee, and with hopeful hesitation places his hand on it to see if it is hot ; but his hopes are doomed to disappointment, for one of the ladies of the house now appears with a small piece of soap in her left hand, and a towel over her arm. She aj)proaches, seizes the coffee-pot with her right hand, and looks kindly and invitingly at the visitor. He is now initiated into the art of producing a cheerful countenance from small resources. He is supposed to hold out his two hands together, while the lady pours water into them out of what I call the coffee-pot. If he is clever he may save a few drops from running through his fingers, and these he rubs quickly over his face ; it is cool and refreshing, and he longs for more, but the water is running short. He is then handed the piece of soap, with which he lathers his hands, the remainder of the quart of water is poured over them, and he then has to make believe that he has had his bath. The Greeks will make the quart of water do for 80 TURKEY m EUROPE. two people, but I was wasteful, and used it all. After this, Turkish coffee is brought in little cups which hold about a tea-spoonful of grounds and a tea-spoonful of coffee, and about four hours afterward, brealdast is served, which consists of soup and two or three made dishes, which would not be bad if they were warm, but they are usually half cold. Notwithstanding all this, the good humor, anxiety to please, and hospitality of the Greek host are so genuine that you leave with a feeling of gratitude, accompanied by sorrow that you cannot teach him how to be comfortable. An after-thought, however, springs up, that if the Greek is happy and contented with so little, why should he be taught to wish for more ? In the great towns, such as Constantinople, etc., the wealthy Greeks, of course, live like other Europeans ; but in the country towns, very well-to-do people live in the manner I have described. The fault of the Greek character is love of intrigue, and a deficiency in the power of making individual interests subservient to the interests of the State. But it cannot be denied that very great progress has been made by Greece since her escape from Ottoman rule — far greater, in fact, than would have been the case had she remained under it. The cause of this is not far to seek : unity of religion, and unity of social habits amongst the subjects, make them more easy to govern than if they were of opposite religions, and under the influence of fanatical hatred. Moreover, in Greece there is no inquisition of foreign intrigue to foster insurrection and thwart every attempt at reform, such as exists in Turkey ; and last, not least, there are more able and educated men to meet the wants of the government. The Greeks complain that the area of their country is too small to develop the great administrative talents which they possess ; but I much doubt whether, if it were ex- tended to a Byzantine Empu'e, their habits of intrigue would not create divisions which would break it up into small and independent states. One thing they have learned of late years which will tell to their advantage, and that OTTOMAN GREEKS. 81 is, that Uussia lias liitherfco made use of Greece simply for Iter own purposes, and that Pan-Slavonic and Pan-Helle- nic schemes are forces acting upon the sam3 line, but in opposite directions. Amidst the late disturbances under which Turkey has been laboring, Greece has shown one encouraging symptom of power, and that is self-control. This proves that the government has a hold over the pas- sions of the people, and is also alive to the real interests of the country. A rising of Greek- Ottoman subjects, sup- ported by an attack from Greece proper, would certainly prove a painful thorn in the side of Turkey at the j)resent moment (January, 1877) ; but, cut bono, it could only end in promoting the views of Kussia at the expense of Greece. Greek lives and Greek money would have to sup- port the rebellion, commerce would be obstructed, massa- cres would excite the interference of foreign powers, and Greece would be reduced to her foimer limits — a poorer and a Aviser State. In traveling along the Macedonian frontier, it is painful and melancholy, but not unnatural, to find the bitter feel- ing which has been left amongst the Greek-Ottoman sub- jects by the horrors produced by retaliation during the war of independence. The to^vn of Niausta — ^in a lovely situation about 2,000 feet up i\Iount Bernius, and overlooking the whole of the Macedonian plain and the sea beyond — suffered more than any other in this way. I was there last year, and was led by an old man to a beautiful gTeen sward in a grove of walnut-trees just above a precipitous rock, over which fell a clear stream in successive cascades for about 1,000 feet, until it reached the wide plain below. Mountains and woods rose at the back, and I was basking in the beauties of Nature, when I was aroused by details of the hideous conduct of man. "It was here," the old man said, "that when a boy I saw all the male population of Niausta brought to execution. The Turkish officials stood here, the executioner there. One by one the Christian Greeks were led out. The question was put to them, ' Giaour, 6 82 TURKEY US' EUROPE. wilt tlion save tliy soul by following God and the prophet ? ' The answer was ' No, Eff endim ; ' and the executioner did his work. But there was one young man, so grand, so noble, so handsome, that they paused, then reluctantly put the fatal question, and he fii-mly answered ' IvTo.' ' Go back, Giaour, and think over your refusal for an hour.' Again he was brought forth, and again the same answer. Still loth to take so fine a life, they offered him a third and last chance for repentance. 'What now, young Giaour, wilt thou accept the terms and live?' 'By God's help, never,' he replied, and boldly met his fate." Truly these were Christian martyrs, and their race should be capable of great deeds. The demoralizing effects of such horrors are not confined to the moment, but leave their track behind. This I witnessed on visiting the house of a Greek shortly after this old man's recital. A pretty child came into the room, a boy of about five years of age, and upon my taking him on my knee, and making the usual remark that he was a fine boy for his age, the father said, " Georgy, tell the gen- tleman how many Turks yon will kill when you are a man," There was much behind that question ! In the small Greek towns on the Black Sea coast very little complaint is heard of Turkish misgovemment, but on the jNIacedonian frontier it is the chief topic of conver- sation. The Greeks take more kindly to brigandage than any other of the Ottoman subjects, Circassians excepted, and most of the bands which used to infest the mountains which divide Thessaly from Macedonia were composed of scoundrels from that nation. Mehemet Ali Pacha (by birth a German), by his energy and perseverance, dispersed the whole of these bands when in command of the district, three years ago ; but since the anarchy produced by the late rebellions, he has been called to the seat of war, and brigandage has again appeared. Here again is another instance of the difficulty under which Turkey labors, of not being allowed time to set her house in order. CHAPTER y. "en voyage." An EnglisTi Yice-Consul— Torture I— Scenery of the Black Sea Coast — Djeverli — The Bulgarian Peasants— Interior of their Houses— Their Habits and Customs — Bulgarian Dances — Bagpipes — A Funeral — A Dinner-party— The Pole Listopat — Good dog, good dog ! — A Circassian Village— Russian Philanthropy in Circassia — A Skirmish — The Knight of the Tea-pot. BEFORE leaving Constantinople I had. been in corre- spondence witli Mr. Charles Brophy, Vice-Consul at Burgas, who consequently expected my arrival, and as the steamer dropped anchor before that town, I saw the Union Jack fluttering away in his boat, which was making for the Thetis. Mr. Bropliy has been some years at Bur- gas, and has an intimate acquaintance with the language and customs of the nations who dwell around him, so that his companionship and information were of great service to me. With kind hospitality, he took me under his charge, and insisted upon my being his guest at his farm of Dje- verli, about twenty miles inland. There is nothing remarkable about the town of Burgas, except the dirt, the fleas, and the bugs. The last are ravenous and active to a degree, the like of which I have never experienced in any other place. It does not boast of an hotel, but there is a khan, or inn, to which we be- took ourselves, and had a sort of breakfast, or dejeuner a la foiirchette. If we inquu-ed into the parentage of this establishment, I should say that its father had been a pot- house, and its mother a small French restaurant ; but the food was good to a hungry man. The Idtchen adjoined the cafe, and you were supposed to go into it, and choose your dishes — and there was 84 TURKEY m EUROPE. plenty of choice : stewed mutton and vegetables, stewed beef, stewed veal, macaroni, soup, and fiied fisli. The order given, the plates were brought into the cafe, where there were tables, and even table-cloths and napkins. ISTatives of various races thronged the room, and my sub- stantial lunch, with excellent native wine, cost eighteen- pence. Presently, what did I see ? Yes, there was no doubt about it, a thorough-bred barrel-organ ! and the man brought it into the cafe, sat down beside me, and began to grind away with all his might. Fortunately, the poor thing was hoarse, so that it was not so deafening as it might otherwise have been ; but I nearly choked myself in my endeavors to finish my luncheon, that I might escape from the unmusical instrument. In Constantinople these organ-players are not allowed to stop and play in the streets, so one man hoists it on his back and walks along, while another follows and turns the handle, and the effect is very ludicrous. The population of Burgas is very mixed, but it is chiefly Greek and Bulgarian. The principal trade consists in the export of grain and wool, whicli are brought down in very large quantities from the interior. Burgas is a most im- portant position in a strategical point of view, and the neighboring hills on the north of the bay would form an excellent jDosition for an intrenched camp, as from it an enemy could command all the eastern passes of the Balkan. But I shall allude to this subject in another chapter. It was arranged that we should start for Mr. Brophy's farm an hour after our landing, and he had, with well-in- tentioned kindness, provided a talega, or Turkish carriage, for me and my servant ; but he was far too wise to enter it himself, and very properly rode his own horse. In Turkey, if you are told that you are to start in an hour, you may be quite sure that it means three hours instead of one ; and our start in this instance was no exception to the rule. At last the vehicle arrived, and we were fairly EN VOYAGE. 85 off. Never sliall I forget that drive ! A talega lias wooden seats, with a wooden roof, open at the sides, and springs there are none. It is an instrument of torture, devised to shake out the teeth and batter in the skull, and before we had jogged many miles along the road there were so many- bumps on the toj) of my head that a phrenologist would have sworn that I was a lunatic. And so I was, for trust- ing myself to such a horrible contrivance for making man uncomfortable and sore, when I had two strong legs able and w^illing to carry me. But fore- warned fore-armed — never again has mortal man been able to lure me into a like agitating machine. Our road — or rather track — lay over rolling hills, de- void of trees, but rich in golden corn, which, on the 20th of July, was being reaped and carried. The country had the api^earance of huge Atlantic waves turned into land, which rolled away as far as the eye could reach, until it merged into the great plain of Adrianoi)le. On the right was the Balkan range, which here is but from two to three thousand feet in height, wooded near the tops, and with glades of cultivated land, where the corn was yet un- cut. Behind and to the left along the Black Sea coast, the scenery is different. Here the smooth rolling hills give place to very steej) and higher ground, which here and there deserves the name of mountain, and it is for the most part covered with a thick oak scrub, which evident- ly, from the few large trees that are left, was once a forest. This range is dignified by the name of Strandja Mountains, and they extend almost to Constantinople, their northern extremity, which bends round to the west, being called the Tundja Mountains, from the river of that name, which cuts its way through them on its southern journey to join the great Maritza. The varieties in the scenery, which is rather curious than grand, is the result of varieties in geological formation. The smooth and, in this eastern quarter, tame-looking Balkan, is built \vp of limestone, chalk, and marl, of the lower cretaceous system, while the Tundja and Strandja 86 TURKEY m EUROPE. Hills are formed of tlie crystalline rocks of mica scMst, with here and there a lofty point of syenite and gi-anite. I noticed that the soil upon which we were traveling was nearly black ; and no wonder that it was bearing such heavy crops of corn, for it is similar to the black earth of Russia, which so em-iches the corn-growing districts north of the Sea of Azof. Sir Roderick Murchison calls it tchornozem, and ascribes its formation to a sub-aqueous origin through the destruction of black Jurassic shale. Pagen, the French agricultural chemist, pronounces it to be one of the best wheat soils in the world, in consequence of the large proportion of azotized matter which it con- tains. A sample of it gave the following analysis : Silica 69-8 Alumina 13'5 Lime 1"6 Oreicle of Iron '7 Organic Matter 64 Traces of Humic and Sulpliuric Acid and Chlorine . . 1 "7 100 We passed through a busy hive of reapers, who were cutting the product of these chemical substances, and who were nearly all Bulgarian women. We were going up a hill at the time, and I had left my "infernal machine" to enjoy the pleasure of stretching my legs and counting my bruises, when I saw several of the young women hastening toward me. Feeling that it would be ungallant to turn my back upon so fair a charge, I stopped, detennined to see it out at all hazards. On they came, with laughing lips and sparkling eyes, as I stood wrapt in expectant wonder, for they were so many. Soon I was surrounded. "What might be the customs of the country, or what might be expected of me, I knew not, and I felt that, could my friends at home see me at this moment, my situation would be ludicrous in the extreme ; but now my hands were kissed, one foot was raised, and the sole of my foot was rubbed with ears of corn, to signify that it was the desire Ey rOTAGB. 87 of tliese brown damsels that I might forever walk on plenty. This poetical consideration for my welfare de- served some return, so I distributed some small coins amongst them, and was laughingly released. The farmhouse belonging to my host is on the edge of a Bulgarian village, and I had a good opportunity of study- ing the character of these peojDle in this part of Turkey, and of afterward comparing them with the Hellenized Bulgarians on my own estate in Macedonia, and the com- jparison was certainly in favor of the non-Hellenic element. It is the fashion with residents in the country to speak of the Bulgarian as lazy and idle, but from my o^vn ex- perience I do not think it is a fair accusation. It is true that the amount of work done by him in the year is very small, but that is the fault of his religion, which forbids him to work during the feast and fast days, which, includ- ing Sundays, number one hundi'ed and eighty out of the three hundi'ed and sixty-five days in the year. When he does work, he rises at four a.m. in the winter, and feeds his working cattle, and is away before daybreak to his bit of land, which is perhaps two miles or more distant, and he plows it until he can no longer see to do so. In the summer he may often be found asleep during the day, it is true ; but, on the other hand, he is frequently at his work at two o'clock in the morning, and continues his labor, off and on, until ten at night. On my o^^ti estate, a Bulgarian with an English single plow and two paks of buffaloes — one pair in and one out — assisted by a boy to lead them, plows one and one-eighth English acres on a winter's day, the soil being a rich sandy loam, and the furrow seven inches deep. In England one acre is considered very good work ; so that the Bulgarian cannot be called idle. The women are exceedingly indus- trious : they bake their own bread, spin wool and cotton, and weave all the cloths and woolen stuffs for family use, and are seldom seen idle for any part of the day. The interiors of the houses of the working classes are generally plastered with a mixture of cow-dung and clay, 88 TURRET IN EUROPE. and consist of two rooms and an inclosed veranda. The furniture is comprised in pots and pans, and some rugs for bedding, a pretty carpet for grand occasions, and some gayly-painted boxes for holding the family clothes and treas- ures ; and these, with an open fire-place and chimney, form all the household requirements of a Bulgarian yeoman. The rooms are generally kept clean and well swept, but the exterior of the houses more resembles what we see about Irish cabins. It consists of an inclosure, \^ith a stable and straw -house, but no garden. Although the land is admirably suited for it, they do not attempt to grow vegetables for family use. This neglect is caused by the narrow limits of their wants. Good wheaten bread, a little salt fish, and some oil, with the addition of sheep's milk, cheese, and sometimes a kid or lamb, roasted whole, on high days and holidays, form the diet of the ordinary peasant. The better class of yeomen live much in the same way, with the addition of soup, stuffed cucumbers, called "bombar," and a very good flat pastry, peculiar to the Bulgarians, and made with flour, cheese, honey, and cream, called ' ' melena ;' ' and I can strongly recommend a traveler to ask for this when passing through Bulgarian towns. The people are deficient in personal cleanliness, although fond of dress, and an old man or woman of eighty could probably count the ablutions of the body during their whole lifetime on the fingers of one hand. The dress of the women, and indeed of the men also, is very picturesque. The former wear costumes of brilliant colors peculiar to each village, which is another sign of the power of the Bulgarian to sink individuality in the com- mon interest. The village costumes are very varied and brilliant, but the colors are so well chosen that the effect is harmonious and pleasing to the eye. Their belts, brace- lets, and head ornaments, made from alloyed silver, are very elaborate, and much prized. They are handed do^vn from mother to daughter as family heirlooms. Curiously enough, the form of the large round clasps of these belts much resembles those of the Etruscans which have been ^.V VOYAGE. 89 found in ancient excavations in Italy. It is possible that tliis may form a link in ethnology. The peasant women ■would naturally follow their ornamental customs through generations upon generations. The Bulgarians married the Slavonian women, and it is quite possible that the an- cient Etruscans might have been of the Slavonic branch of the Aryan race. The Bulgarian women marry young, but, from the habit of suckling their children up to three and four years of age, they soon lose their youthful appearance, and at two- and-twenty look old and haggard. They are very domes- tic, there is much family affection, and but little quarrel- ing, probably because the women have their time so fully occupied. Of course there are occasional cases of ill-treat- ment and wife-beating, as in England, but it is quite the excejDtion, and not the rule. Ceremony is conspicuous amongst them, especially at weddings and burials. The former is an occasion for a general feast in the village, and the peasant bridegroom will spend as much as ten or fifteen pounds in wine and sheeiD for the carousals, which last for three or four days, accomi)auied by almost continuous dancing. The friends of the bridegroom dance their way to the friends of the bride, to the sound of the drum, bagpipe, and clarionet, and vice versa. Then the presents are exhib- ited, which consist chiefly of embroidered handkerchiefs ; the bridegroom pins these on to his coat, and thus decorated, joins in the dance. The night before the marriage the bride takes a bath, the first she has ever had in her life ; the great ceremony of croA^Tiing the bride takes place either in the church or in the bride- groom's house, in the presence of their friends. The priest performs the service. The bride arrives on horseback, covered with a long vail and a profusion of gold tinsel on her head. During the service a croAvn made of alloyed silver is placed upon her head, grain and raisins are scat- tered over the ha]ppy pair and amongst the friends, a variety of forms are gone through, and the marriage cere- 90 TURRET IN EUROPE. mony is completed. Tlie bride kisses tlie liands of her friends with a very slow and dignified inclination, the dancing is renewed, and the tired couple are left in soli- tude. The Bulgarians are peculiarly fond of dancing, which is usually practiced to the sound of the bagpipe. The women and men Join hands until they form a long line, which then serpentines about to a slow movement which seems to have great fascination, and to produce a sort of quiet ecstasy. The bagpipe is similar in every respect to that used in Scotland, and being struck by the likeness of the instruments, I asked whether they had any quick dances. The reply was in the affirmative, and to my aston- ishment the piper at once struck up a tune which would have made an excellent accompaniment to a Highland reel, and two men stood up and danced with that same solem- nity and air of importance which we see in Scotland. It is most remarkable that the dances are as near as possible alike : there is the occasional shout, the snapping of the fingers, the sudden turning of the body, and the steps are also very similar. Again, we find the musical accompani- ments the same ; and when we consider how dances pre- serve their character over many ages, we can hardly deny the conclusion that the ancestors of the Scotch Highlander and the Bulgarian must have had the same dancing-mas- ters. The dance may probably have traveled westward with the ancient emigTant j)opulation from the confines of China and the Himalayas. I was anxious to further test the similarity in music, so taking the piper on one side, I asked him to let me hear the sort of air he would play if, for example, he had lost his betrothed. I found that I had most unwittingly struck a note of real sorrow, for the tears came into the eyes of the poor young fellow, and he retired into a recess in the room, and played one of those sad and wild pibrochs that we often hear in the Scotch Highlands ; there was such a melancholy harmony in the air that I thought he must have instinctively felt the poetry of those beautiful lines in the "Message": EN VOYAGE. 91 *' Then I heard a strain of music. So mighty, so pure, so clear. That my very sorrow was silent. And my heart stood still to hear ; It rose in harmonious rushings Of mingled voices and strings. And I tenderly laid my message On the music's outspread wings ; And I heard it float farther and farther, In sound more perfect than speech — Parther than sight can follow, Farther than soul can reach. And I know that at last my message Has passed through the golden gate, So my heart is no longer restless, And I am content to wait.'* As soon as the sad strains were over, he got np and silently went Ms way. This remembrance of death leads me to describe a fu- neral at which I was present some time afterward. A young Bulgarian in my employment suddenly died of apoplexy : all the family immediately turned out of the house, and commenced a melancholy wail and shouting ; the dead man was dressed in his best clothes, and shortly afterward carried on a stretcher in funeral procession to the neigh- boring church, where the priest performed a long funeral service over the body ; each of the man's friends and neighbors then came forward, knelt and prayed by the side of the body, and then kissed his lips — first all the men, and then all the women. He was then carried to the churchyard, and lowered into his grave with great solemnity and decorum. The grave was covered only with boards, upon which flowers were strewn. This poor man was engaged to be married to a girl living in a neighboring cottage : she went daily to the grave, and sat there for hours, and nothing would console her. For months afterward she would sit alone out on the plain, in all weathers, grieving over her loss. 92 TURRET m EUROPE. After I ]iad been a fe^v days at Mr. Bropliy's farm I received an invitation to dinner from the leading Bulgarian in the village.. TMs man was a most excellent fellow, and had made his way to independence by his own industry in agriculture, and was now the owner of a small landed estate and large flocks of sheep, although he had com- menced life with only a plow and a pair of buffaloes. About eight o'clock my Bulgarian host came to an- nounce that dinner was ready, and we proceeded to his house, where we were ushered into the room, for there was only one besides the family bedroom. Everything was scrupulously clean, the room was tastefully arranged with rugs and cushions, and there was a blazing fire on the ground in the center of the room, and upon it several copper pots which gave forth most savory smells. The female part of the establishment were there to re- ceive me, and they consisted of the wives of the host and bis son, together with a daughter, all remarkably plain. But the heat ! The month was July, and the room was like an oven, while I, as the honored guest, had to take the seat near the fire ! ' I whispered to the vice-consul that before dinner was half over there would be nothing left of me but the wick, and so he considerately suggested to our host that- as it was a lovely moonlight night, we might dine in the ver- anda. Happy thought ! Our host at once consented, but not without expressions from the female portion of the company that we should die of cold, although the ther- mometer was at 70° Fahr. We were soon seated, cross-legged and Turkish fashion, in a circle on the ground in the veranda, the ladies look- ing on ; in the center was placed a basin of soup, and we were each given a shallow iron spoon, with which we were supi^osed to dip into the common bowl. If there is one thing which I cannot "abide," it is sitting cross-legged and Turkish fashion on the hard ground. The heels of my boots get into wrong places, I find that I have bones where I always thought all was soft, and I either sit so far EN VOYAGE. 93 backward that I am in danger of rolling over in tliat direction, or so far forward that I have the appearance of saying my i^rayers, besides which I get the cramp ; so that altogether I did not feel exactly at my ease in this seden- tary attitude. Added to this, the distance from my mouth to the "common bowl" was considerable, and to transfer the soup across it in a shallow spoon was a feat which was only to be accomplished by patience and perseverance. In my first attempt I got the cramp in my foot when the spoon was half-way to my mouth, and deposited the soup outside instead of inside my waistcoat, and learned that it was decidedly hot, which was so far satisfactory. I then tried the kneeling attitude, and got on better. The soup was a delicious mixture of sweets and sours, and full of vegetables. Next came a lamb, roasted whole, head and all, which we all cut at in common ; but the expression on the lamb's countenance made me feel like a cannibal. The delicious pastry called "melena" followed, wine was handed round during the meal, and even an alderman might have felt that he had dined. The son of our host and his wife then came round with a brass dish, a piece of soap, and a very pretty embroid- ered towel, "wdth which we cleansed our hands, and re- lapsed into coffee, cigarettes, and conversation. While we were talking, I heard a loud and peculiar cry outside the village, and was told that some stranger had arrived, and was calling for the Kaiyah, or village official appointed to entertain any wayworn traveler that may arrive. This is a custom which prevails throughout the whole of Turkey, and such a thing as dying from starvation, which we sometimes hear of in civilized England, can only occur as an act of suicide. I was much struck with the quiet ease and dignity of my Bulgarian host, who was not in the least put out at the influx of foreign guests, but did the honors like one of Nature's gentlemen. 94 TURKEY IN EUROPE. The following day lie took me to see the village school, wMcli lie had built at his own expense. It consisted of a good-sized room, which was well suited for the purpose. There were about twenty tidy boys and girls receiving in- struction, and they all stood up on our entering, and seemed under excellent discipline, and also most intelli- gent and anxious to learn. Mr. Brophy had as an agent a Polish engineer who had been employed by the Turkish Government in making roads. There are a large number of these Poles scattered about Turkey, and the bitterness of their hate of Russia is only rivaled by that of the Circassians. They are ex- ceedingly clever, and most agreeable companions, and the agent Listopat stood out pre-eminent in that respect. He was one of those good-natured and thoroughly unselfish men that are so rare that, in these selfish days, we feel inclined to bow down and worship them as a part of the glory of human nature. His thoughts were always set upon everything and everybody but himseK, and there was not a biped or quadruped within his ken that was not thought and cared for as if it were his own child. Of course he was very poor ; such men always are ; and he was so far mortal that he had his faults, which we may as well hide under a bushel, or let us say a peck, for it would not take a very large vessel to cover them. All Poles are great linguists ; but his talents in that direction did not extend to English, and it was most amusing to hear his endeavors to make my Cheshire lad John understand his instructions. On one occasion he had sent him on an errand — ^not, however, without grave doubts in his own mind whether he had conveyed his right meaning. Presently, when John returned with the article required, Listopat, in his excited glee, rushed at him, patted him on the back, exclaiming, "Ah ! good dog, good dog ! well done, good dog ! " John is a sedate lad, who rather stands upon his dignity, and the expression of his countenance at this canine greeting was expressive of wonder and wounded pride. Listopat ^.y VOYAGE. 95 in Ms turn now saAv that tliere was some mistake, and ex- plained himself in Turkish, when, to our intense amuse- ment, we found that he thought he was saying "good hoy !''"' It was curious to see how well John managed to get on with the natives, notwithstanding his ignorance of their language. Mr. Brophy had as a ser\' ant a Bulgar- ian lad who did not understand a single word of Eng- lish, and yet we used to hear him and John chatting away together as though they perfectly understood each other. A few miles from Djeverli there was a large Circassian village, and as I was most anxious to make the acquain- tance of these celebrated people, Mr. Brophy kindly ac- companied me to make a call upon their chief. But be- fore giving an account of my visit, I -svill describe how it came about that these people are settled on Turkish soil. In the year 1864, after many years of struggling, and on their part gallant fighting, their subjugation to the Rus- sians in the Caucasus was nearly completed. Long expe- rience had taught their conquerors the untamable charac- ter of their new subjects, and as a large body of the Cii'cassians inhabited a very beautiful, fertile, but moun- tainous district, it was felt that their warlike propensities in such a country might on occasions prove both trouble- some and dangerous. The Russians are not a race to be checked by conscien- tious scruples, except where Turkish subjects are con- cerned, so they determined to sweep these troublesome people clean off the dangerous country they inhabited. They therefore told them that they must move ; but it is only fair to state that land was offered to them, and facili- ties for emigration, in the low steppes of Russia. But it so happened that these Circassians had an over- weening love for their o\vn homes in their beautiful hiUs, and many of them actually dared to refuse to go. This was too much for the patience of the conqueror, so he drove them out, bag and baggage, to the number of 300,- 000 ; and this is how he did it : — 96 TURKEY IN EUROPE. " Consul Dickson to Earl Eussell. '' Soukum-Kale, March 17th, 1864. " I feel it a painful duty to report a deed that has come to my knowledge which has so exasperated the Circassians as to excite them to further resistance, however desperate their case may be. " A Eussian detachment having caf)tured the village of Toubek, on the Soobashi Eiver, inhabited by about 100 Abadzekh, and after these liad surrendered themselves prisoners, they were all massacred hy the Russian troops. Among the victims were two women in an advanced state of pregnancy, and five children. The detachment in question belongs to Count Evdokimoff's army, and is said to have advanced from the Pshish Valley. As the Eussian troops gain ground on the coast, the natives are not allowed to remain tbere on any terms, but are compelled either to transfer themselves to the plains of the Kouban, or emigrate to Turkey." This was but one out of many sucli acts, and the unfor- tunate Circassians kno^\dng the sympathy for suffering in the hearts of the English people, made the following ap- peal to our Queen : " Our most humble petition to Her Magnificent Majesty the Queen and Emperor (sic) of England is to the effect that : "It is now more than eighty years since the Eussian Govern- ment is unlawfully striving to subdue and annex to its dominions Circassia, which since the creation of the world has been our home and country. " It slaughters like sheep the children, helpless women, and old men that fall into its hands. It rolls about their heads with the bayonet like melons ; and there is no act of oppression or cruelty which is beyond the pale of civilization and humanity, and which defies descrijition, that it has not committed. We have not, from father to son, at the cost of our lives and property, refrained from opposing the tyrannical acts of the Government in defense of our country, which is dearer to us than our lives. But dur- ing the last year or two it has taken advantage of a famine, caused by a drought with which the Almighty visited us, as well as by its own ravages ; and it has occasioned us great distress by its severe attacks by sea and land. Many are the lives which have been lost in battle, from hunger in the mountains, from des- titution on the sea-coast, and from want of skill at sea. EN VOYAGE. 97 *' "V\'e therefore invoke the mediation and precious assistance of the British Government and people — the guardian of humanity and the center of justice — in order to repel the brutal attacks of the Eussian Government on our country, and save our country and nation together. "But if it is not possible to afford this help for the preserva- tion of our country and race, then we pray to be afforded facili- ties for removing to a place of safety our helpless and miserable children and women, that are perishing by the brutal attacks of the enemy, as well as by the effects of famine. And if neither of these two requests is taken into consideration, and if in our helpless condition we are utterly annihilated, notwithstanding our appeals to the mercy and grace of the goveriynents, then we shall not cease to invoke our right in the presence of the Lord of the •universe, of Him who has confided to your Majesty sovereignty, strength, and power for the purpose of protecting the weak. "April 9th, 1864." I cannot find that any indignation meetings were held in Great Britain, nor that the Minister for Foreign Affau's called npon the Russian Government to bring to trial the commander of the detachment which massacred the pris- oners, and women and children, as was done in the case of Turkey after the Bulgarian atrocities ; but I do find that the Turkish Government (the anti-human specimens of humanity, as they have been called by theii* enemies in England), oifered to receive the Circassian emigrants, and immediately gave £200,000 toward their relief and colon- ization in the Turkish Empu'e, and this sum being a strain on the Turkish resources, and a far larger amount being necessary, our ambassador at Constantinople suggested to Earl Russell, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, that it might be worthy of consideration whether a loan for the object in view might not be raised in this country, pro- vided the Turkish Government would guarantee the inter- est. To which Earl Russell replied ; "Her Majesty's Government have had under their considera- tion your Excellency's dispatch of the 3d inst., on the subject of the immigration of Circassians into the Ottoman dominions, and 7 98 TURRET IN EUROPE. I have to acquaint you that they concur in your suggestions as to the best means of providing a permanent settlement for these un- happy people, and approve tbe course pursued by you in the matter." But notiiing more was done toward the loan, and the Turkish Government colonized the emigrants near Trebi- zond, and in Turkey in Europe, and various parts of the empire, and so the matter dropped, and we must hope that the Circassians were satisfied by their appeal to the sympathy of the British public. That these people had been reduced to a state of utter despair and demoralization, may be inferred from the ac- count given of them by Consul Stevens at Trebizond ; he says : '' The emigrants present at Trebizond are of the Oubikh tribe. They are generally speaking poor, and of an indolent character. They have no regard for cleanliness which prevents the allay of disease in their ranks, and which is making such fearful havoc amongst them, the deaths averaging from 120 to 150 per diem out of 25,000. *' They live huddled together, infecting one another. They sell the rations and clothing distributed to them by the local authori- ties ; they sell their children for a few piasters ; they disinter their dead at night, to steal the calico wrappers which envelope the bodies, and then abandon the corpses in the open fields. Lately they concealed several deaths from the local authorities, with a view to continue in the receipt of the rations of the de- ceased individuals ; and one corpse was discovered hid for eleven days in one of the tents, other emigrants occupying the same cov- ering without the slightest repugnance. " It seemed as though these unfortunate people were in such a state of misery that they did not care for life. I have been told that those who accepted the Government lands on the Russian steppes rejoice whenever a male child dies, because he has escaped from life as a Russian sub- ject, but my informant was one of the Circassian emi- grants to Turkey. These people, in their owti country, lived very much as CmCASSIANS. 09 the Highland clans of Scotland in former days. They were constantly at feud with each other, and their princi- pal occupation was cattle and horse-lifting. Their emigra- tion to Turkey has gone on from the year 1864 to the present day, and in Turkey in Europe they are scattered about Roumelia, and also north of the Balkan, but their principal location is along the Black Sea coast. Phj'sically they are splendid specimens of the animal man, and they strut about with upright gait and haughty mien, as much as to say, "The world belongs to us, but we permit you to live in it." In their very blood they carry about such a wild, inde- pendent, and untamable character, that they form the most dangerous of neighbors, and the most troublesome of subjects. But they are bons diables, and very pleas- ant companions if you do not possess anything worth stealing. They group themselves into viQages here and there, and dwell in houses buUt of wattle and mud, with either tile or reed roofs, and which are generally hidden as much as possible from view, by the choice of the site, and by trees and shrubs. The dwellings are devoid of furniture, and have a door, an extremely small window in one comer, and a chimney. The Circassians are of the Mohammedan faith, and the great ambition of the villagers is to establish a mosque in each of their small communities. They cultivate the land, but in a very careless and lazy manner ; they steal everything which comes in their way, and their ways are many. It is said that hospitality is a remnant of barbarism, if so, the Circassians are barbarous, for they possess that genial quality to an eminent degree. But to return to my visit to their village near Djeverli. The chief was away, but I was received with great civility by some of the inhabitants, and led to an empty house, which soon became crowded %vith male villagers, some of them old and dignified men who had seen many a 100 TURKEY IN EUROPE. fight against the Russians in their mountain homes of the Caucasus. As soon as I was seated I saw all eyes turned upon my gun and pistols, and I was politely requested to offer them for inspection. They were both of good work- manshij), and the eyes of the men quite glistened with delight as they were handed round, and I saw that I was now regarded with greater respect. They in their turn showed me their weapons, which were all flint and steel locks, but exquisitely worked and inlaid with silver. They also brought out some chain armor which had been worn by their fathers, and which seemed to be considered almost sacred. My gun was handed back with as much care as a mother would handle her first-born babe. The conversation turned upon the history of their race, but they did not seem to know anything beyond their grand- fathers ; their hate of the Russians was something intense, and I pity any of that nation that may have the misfor- tune to fall into their hands. I was now regaled with a capital lunch, consisting of a dish called "pasta," a sort of peas-pudding made of millet, a cucumber salad, a roast lamb's head, and coffee. There was no wine, as the people are Mohammedans, and do not touch it; but a drink called "Iran," made of sour buttermUk, and to be found in every Turkish and Circas- sian village, was very refreshing and acceptable. Any reference to their thieving propensities seemed to cause great amusement, and the young men informed me that they did not know how to thieve, but they looked with ad- miration at their fathers and declared them real adepts in the art. This was a filial respect which probably would not be set down as a virtue in Exeter Hall, but it cannot be called a willful vice, as the children are educated to consider it an ambition. I was told by one fine young man, with great pride, that his father could steal a horse out of a stable whilst the owner was asleep by the side of it. Their manners are very courteous, but independent : such is the education of the male children. The females are brought up to be circassia:n's. lOi sold as slaves to foreign harems, and tliey look forward to entry into that life as a yonng lady in England does to "coming out." Their prices vary according to beauty, but as far as I could gather the average is about £100. As a rule the women cover their faces and retire within their houses on the approach of a giaour, but on one oc- casion I came suddenly, as I turned a corner, upon five young girls, about eighteen years of age, who passed close to me mthout covering their faces or appearing either horrified or bashful. Two of them were tall and exceed- ingly well-made and graceful, and certainly very beauti- ful. Amongst the men I noticed two types of face, the one of Tartar, and the other of what must be called Cir- cassian, extraction, as it is one of the oldest-known races in the world. The latter is more like the handsomest form of Albanian countenance. The origin of the Tartar type arises from the custom of making slaves of all enemies captured in battle, these slaves become heredi- tary, and as a consequence are mixed up T\4th the people. When the Circassians emigrated to Turkey they brought with them their hereditary slaves. These people are now beginning to discover that by the laws of their adopted country they are free, but their Circassian owners have no notion of acknowledging such a right, and many disputes and quarrels, sometimes resulting in bloodshed, have in consequence arisen with the Turkish authorities, who en- deavor to enforce the law. The Circassian argument is this : "You allowed us to settle in your country, and made no terms. These people have been our slaves from generation to generation, and now you have no right to make us give them up. If you try to compel us, we will oi^pose force to force, and fight as long as we can : we shall probably be beaten, but will never give in." This is a nice hornet's nest in the midst of the Turks, and certainly not a grateful return for hos- pitality. The CuTassians in European Turkey are now estimated at 200,000, and they are the terror of their neighbors, 102 TURKEY m EUROPE. wlietlier Turks or Christians. Their depredations go on ■unchecked through fear of reprisals. Their interest at high quarters, through the introduction of their beautiful gMs to the principal harems at Constantinople and else- where, is so great that it is found diflQcult to get convic- tions against them. They well know their own power, and unless stringent measures are taken to stop further immigration, and to enforce the law strictly over those who are colonized, they will prove a thorn in the side of Turkey for many a year to come, and a great bar to prog- ress. I left the Circassian village impressed with the fact that I had been amongst a set of men Avith remarkable force of character, but whether they possess a sufficient amount of self-control to enable them to become, as a nation, civilized members of society, is a doubtful question. The following day, the chief of the village — who had been absent during my visit — returned my call. He was a dark man, of middle height, dressed in the usual long, dark, cloth frock coat, with trousers and long boots, the tops embroidered with silver. He wore a fez for a cap, and I noticed that his feet and hands were remarkably small. His weapons consisted of a pair of beautiful silver- mounted-flint-and steel pistols, and a silver-hilted dagger. He was a cheery, independent character, with a sufficient amount of dignity, and he made himself quite at home. His sharj) and somewhat fierce eyes ranged quickly over everything that was in the room, and there was an exj^res- sion in them that bespoke but little respect for mewn and tuum : he was, in fact, the very picture of a robber chief. He was a man of great influence amongst his race, and from him I learnt that the Cii'cassians in Turkey have an organization by which they can quickly assemble a number of armed horsemen on any point in an incredibly short space of time, and that by giving the signal he could in two days have a thousand at his own village. It so happened that at this very period a dispute was going on between the Turkish authorities and his own village, CIECASSIAKS. 103 witli regard to the slave question. A body of zaptieJis (native mounted police) liad been sent to the village to enforce justice, upon which two of them were seized by the Circassians, tied up and flogged, and sent back to their government employers, with the message that a worse fate would await any more of these troublesome officials who should think of intruding their officious per- sons within the sacred precincts of the village. This was rather too strong a dose of rebellion for the Turkish gov- erning pasha, so a body of 250 Turkish cavalry were sent to the village to enforce order and the law ; but the Circas- sians knew well that they were coming, and the Turks on their arrival found a thousand Cu'cassian irregular cavahy ranged up before the village. It would evidently be a serious ailau', and might cause trouble, so the Turkish force retii'ed for "orders." The Circassians, reinforced, moved their ground to a strong position, and a powerful force of Turkish troops, consisting of the three arms, was sent against them. The Turkish commander was loth to fight, not from any want of courage — far from it — but who knew what influence some of these Circassians had at court? He therefore tried conciliation, and summoned them to surrender, otherwise he would be under the pain- ful necessity of ordering a charge. There was nothing the Circassians would like better, so they begged the Turks to "come on " and try it. There was no help for it, so the order was given to advance, and forty Turks were im- mediately placed Jiors de coiiibat by a volley from the Circassians. Another parley now ensued, and negotia- tions were prolonged until the Cu'cassians were allowed to disperse, and the affair was to be settled at Constanti- nople, but I afterwards heard that the whole business had been hushed up. I endeavored to be present at this onelee^ but there was so much difficulty and mystery in gaining information from either side as to time and locality that it was over on my arrival. The numbers concerned were probably much exaggerated, as they always are in Turkey. 1 04 TURKEY IN EUROPE. I was mucli amused by a little episode in the return visit of tlie Circassian chief. My host, Mr. Brophy, hospitably offered him some tea, of which his race are very fond. I immediately detected that the eagle eye of my visitor — and there was no mistaking its expression — had fastened on the Britannia-metal tea-pot. He shortly afterwards asked my host to make him a present of it ; but the reply was that he was sorry he could not, as it was the only one he had. "0," said the Circassian, "you ought to give it to me. If you were to come to my vil- lage, and took such a fancy to anything as to feel obliged to ask for it, I should hand it to you directly." But my host did not see the force of the argument, and still polite- ly refused. Shortly afterwards he went out to give some orders, and the moment he was absent, the Circassian winked at me, and laughingly took the tea-pot, folded it up carefully in his handkerchief, and put it into his capa- cious coat-pocket. On Mr. Brophy' s return I called his attention to what had happened. The Circassian treated it as a great joke, and evidently thought it so. He laughed immoderately, and patted my host on the back, but Tie still Icept the tea-pot, and nemr gave it up. His afternoon teas were destined to be but a temporary enjoyment, and a few days afterwards I heard that this bold and jovial robber-chief was no more. A Turkish force of cavalry was passing through his village, and upon his resisting some orders transmitted by the officer, he was shot on the spot. ^Notwithstanding their thieving propensities and other faults, it is impossible to be in their society without a feel- ing of admiration for them as a race. Whether they can ever be so tamed and educated as to become industrious and peaceful subjects, I much doubt ; but the longer the experiment is postponed the greater the danger to Turkey. CHAPTER VI. DISTEICT OF BUEGAS. District of Burgas — Malaria Fevers — " Breakers aliead " — Jackals in Europe — "Yarin" and Procrastination — Monastery of St. Atlianasius — Mineral Springs — John in a Dilemma — Value of Land — A Circassian Horse-dealer — Yanboli — Ancient Tumuli — Migration of Storks — Scandal in Stork- land — Pleasures of a Turkish Khan — Sheep and Cows of the District. I SPENT some time in the district of Burgas, examining the coast to the south and north, but I will not weary the reader by minute descriptions of this locality, as there is nothing of any importance to notice excepting the stra- tegical value of the neighborhood, which will be dealt with in another chapter. The population is principally Bulgarian, some of whom are Pomaks, or Mohammedans, but the majority are Christians. There are also a few Turkish villages, and many Circassians, and on the sea- coast the purely Greek towns of Messembria, Akhioli, Sisopolis, Agazopolis, and Vasiliko. I observed that the small rivers which fall into the sea along the coast are for the most part blocked at their mouths during the summer by the shingle thro"\\Ti up by the waves, and the bar thus formed throws back the river- water, which stagnates in the valleys, and is the cause of much of the malaria fever which is prevalent during the autumn months. In one of the rivers there was a suffi- cient body of water to clear away the shingle as it de- bouched from the land to the sea, and on inquiry from the villagers who inhabited the valley, I found that it was perfectly healthy, while those in the neighborhood where the rivers were blocked suffered severely from fever. It is difficult to discover the actual cause of these malaria 105 106 TURRET IN EUROPE. fevers, wliicli are so prevalent, not only in Turkey, but in nearly the whole of Southern Europe during the early autumn months. Experience seems to point to theu' being generated by marshes, and yet, at an altitude of two thousand feet above the sea, they are never experienced even on the edge of marshes, unless they are imported by some indi- vidual who has brought the fever T\ith him from the low country. Again, I have seen places which are tolerably elevated and well di-ained, and yet very subject to fever, and another locality not far off, and apparently less favored by nature, which is perfectly healthy. Although marshes, \vithout doubt, facilitate the trans- mission of the poison which produces the fever, I imagine w^e must look further for the real cause of this troublesome effect. I heard of a case of an old man who had slept for twenty years actually in a marsh, his miserable hut being on a damp plot of ground in the midst of the rushes, but curiously enough, althoiigh the neighborhood was very unhealthy, he never suffered from fever so long as he slept at home, but if he went to visit in the neighborhood and slept away from home, he sickened immediately. The climate of Turkey generally is very healthy, espe- cially at high elevations, but in certain localities on the low grounds, the afore-mentioned fevers are prevalent during the months of July, August, and September. The principal cause of the healthiness of the country is to be found in the regular breezes which blow during the sum- mer, and which are created by the alternation of mountain and plain. The nights are always cool, which tends to invigorate the body after the relaxation of the heat of the day. The diyness of the air has also a sanitary effect, and tends to prevent the poisonous gases which would otherwise be generated in the neighborhood of towns where the dead carcasses of animals are left to corrupt wherever they happen to fall. A STOnM. 107 While in the neighborhood of Burgas I liad the pleas- ure of meeting Captain St. Clair, late of the 21st Regiment, who is settled on the sea-coast just north of Cape Emineh, and who is much interested, I believe, in the sea-fishing along the coast between that cape and Varna. He was good enough to invite me to visit his settlement, and as his large sailing-boat was at anchor in the harbor, it was agreed that we should embark that afternoon ; but the ever-present genius of delay was at work, and it was nine o' clock in the evening before we were off. There was a light breeze and a smooth sea, and we were soon gliding away delightfully before a fair wind, when I noticed some ominous-looking clouds to windward. The boat was piled high above the thwarts with empty casks, which rendered it difficult for the two Greek sailors to get at the sails ; but the sea was smooth, and after list- ening to some songs from the Pole Listopat, who formed one of the party, we all dropped off to sleep, with the ex- ception of our two Argonauts. But the JSTereids were at work, and at 2 a.m. I awoke. AU was pitchy dark, but my former experience of the sea instantly told me that a heavy squall was close upon us, and a vivid flash of lightning showed the white foam- ing waves on our starboard quarter, and black rocks close upon our lee. I seized the helm to relieve the Greek, who flew to the sails, as I roused St. Clair. The main-sheet was by my hand, and I let it fly, when with a rushing roar the storm struck us. Whether my Cheshire lad John had cast loose a bag of winds in the boat I must leave to the heathen gods to determine, but if he did he met with his punish- ment. This was his first experience of boating on the sea, and he had fallen asleep in the bow to the sound of the gently-rippling waves. He now woke up, half buried in water, the lightning flashing, the wind roaring, while he was buffeted about the head with the flapping sail, and his astonishment may be imagined. He thought his last day had come, and that he had been consigned to the 108 TURKEY IN EUROPE. infernal regions. The boat was nearly buried in the white foam, and before the thrashing sail could be clewed up we had sprung our mast. That we were rushing upon our fate and upon the rocks seemed highly probable, for we were all ignorant of our whereabouts. The boat was flying through the water, and as the light- ning flashed we saw rocks and breakers within a hundred yards to leeward ; a kind fate guided us safely through the danger. Daylight came and showed ns that we had barely cleared the rocky point where stands the ancient Greek town of Anchialus (Akhioli). The stonn wore itself out, and a few hours afterwards we were safely at anchor in the little bay beneath St. Clair's house, and found ourselves again on terra fir ma. I spent two pleasant days under his roof, and had the advantage of hearing his very powerful mind brought to bear upon many of the questions concerning Turkey and the East. The country in his neighborhood is very hilly, and covered with forest and brushwood, and there being reports of wild boar and roe-deer near at hand, a drive was organized; but althoiigh a boar was seen by the beaters, our only bag was a fox which happened to come my way. They have a most excellent hound in these parts, in ap- pearance like a cross between a fox-hound and a pointer, and the next day I was taken out by a native hunter to witness the performance of one of these animals, and the sport, when there is game, is not to be despised. There are drives through the jungle, and I took up my position with my gun in one of them, while the hound was put into hunt. "All is fish which comes to his net," and on finding the track of a hare, roe-deer, boar, fox, or jackal, he immediately gives tongue, and endeavors to turn the animal toward the sportsman. We soon had a "find," and with an active pair of legs the running backwards and forwards as you heard the hound approaching different parts of the drive is sufficiently exciting to make it sport. My bag consisted of a hare and a jackal, after a good deal PRO CllASTmA TIOK 109 of exercise in endeavoring to cut off a roe-deer, wliicli was also found, but it was the roe-deer, and he liad been so often hunted that he was too knowing to break across the drive. I must beg naturalists to rest assured that I am not maldng a mistake when I say that I shot a jackal in Europe. I knew the animal well in India and Mesopo- tamia, and there are numbers of them in certain parts of Turkey. I have since met a Belgian naturalist, who in- sisted upon it that I was in error, but I can vouch for it that the mistake lies with him. Captain St. Clair has several Poles in his employ, who, with himself, took part in the Polish insurrection of 1863, and witnessed the tender mercy which Russia exhibits when dealing with her own Christian subjects. Here, as in the case of the Circassians, the bitterness of hate toward the Russians, engendered by scenes that have been wit- nessed, amounts almost to a madness. The very name of Russia seems to rouse a demon of revenge, and the flash- ing eye, the compressed lip, the paling cheek, and the silence^ mark the volcano of human passion which is but slumbering within. St. Clair kindly placed his boat at my disposal to return to Burgas by sea, which is only six hours distant with a fair wind. The land and sea breezes here are as regular as clock- work, blomng in contrary directions during the twenty- four hours, with an interval of about two hours' calm. Starting at eight o'clock in the morning, I should have had a fair wind, which would have taken me to Burgas the same afternoon, and it was accordingly so arranged. But here, again, that painful procrastination, which is the bane of the country, was apparent. There was no reason whatever why I should not have started at the time ap- pointed. The men were there, the boat was there, and the fair wind was inviting us to come ; but no ! it was not to be, and delay after delay took place, until it was one o'clock before I was able to take leave of my hospitable host, who lacked only one element of generosity, and that 110 TURKEY m EUROPE. was to "speed tlie parting guest." The consequence was that before we had reached haK way the wind ceased. We rocked about in a calm, on a rolling sea, until I became sea-sick ; the wind rose in the contrary direction, and we were beating about all night, and did not arrive at Burgas until nine o'clock the next morning. This habit of pro- crastination seems to be a disease in Turkey which attacks all alike, "whether he be a stranger or bom in the land." It meets the traveler at every turn, and nearly drives him mad. At first he tries to battle against the infection, but it is invisible, although painfully present, and he seems to fight only against the wind. At last, in sheer despair, he resigns himself to his fate, and listens with equanimity to the interminable "Yarin" — to-morrow. But the habit is the ruin of the country. It was born during the Byzan- tine Empire, and hastened its dissolution, remaining after- wards as a legacy to the Turks. At the entrance to the Bay of Burgas, there is a con- spicuous and picturesque rock, occupied by the monastery of St. Athanasius, which is presided over by a Greek bishop. I determined to visit this romantic Isle, and, ac- companied by Mr. Brophy, took boat, and arrived there just after dusk. We met the portly old bishop on tlie landing with several people of both sexes, and were soon ushered into a comfortable room in the monastery, a quaint, rambling old building, perched on the top of the rock, about two hundred feet above the sea. It was a lovely moonlight night in summer, and the views were charming from the open windows, which looked down into the sea and rocks below. The old bishop sat in one corner of the divan near a bell, which, when pulled, seemed to have the magic effect of instantly producing a servant with good cheer. First sherbet, then coffee, then most excellent mne, then wine again, until I felt that if this went on much longer I should be^gin to sing "The Monks of Old," and tempt the jovial old bishop to join in the chorus, and thus bring scandal uiDon his ecclesiastical establishment. I therefore retired MINERAL SPRINGS. HI to bed, TvMcli consisted of a cushioned divan iii another room, and I was soon hilled to sleep by the sound of the rippling waves. The rock under my windows had some- what the form of a boat, and there is a legend which as- serts that it once belonged to a pirate who attacked the monastery, but the moment the boat touched the sacred land it was turned into stone, and has there remained ever since as a monument of the retribution which will surely follow any who shall dare to attempt a similar sacrilege. Turkey in Europe is rich in hot mineral springs, which the Romans did not fail to recognize for their curative properties, and built over them most spacious baths, which are still in excellent preservation. There is one at Lija, near Burgas, which I visited, and found the temperature as much as 120 deg. of Fahrenheit. Tlie effect of the bath on the skin is to make it beautifully soft and velvety, and I commend the study of the chemi- cal substances in the water to Madame Rachel and her followers. My lad John bore our rough life very well on the whole, and never grumbled ; but it is astonishing how helpless people are who have never been accustomed to leave the daily routine of home life. On one occasion we were in light marching order, and had nothing with us but the clothes we wore, and having halted for the night at a very pretty spot where a river met the sea, we picketed the horses and lay down on the ground to sleep. We were on short rations that night, and had only a little dry bread for dinner, and John did not look particularly happy. Sleeping on the bare ground is all very well for the fii'st half -hour or so ; you wrap your cloak around you, and think, " "What do people want with beds ? " and fall asleep. Presently, however, you have a dream of being pinched and bruised, and awake to find that you are made up of bones and angles, which are sore, and that the softness of a bed is not such a useless invention after all. I can advise a sleex)er on such occasions to scrape holes 112 TURKEY IN EUROPE. in tlie ground to receive tlie larger projecting parts of Ms body, as it saves a multitude of bruising dreams, and con- duces to rest. In the morning I awoke at daybreak, gave John a shake, and went down to the river, only thirty yards off, which I chose for a wash in preference to the sea, which was the same distance from me. I afterwards went exploring, and came upon a native with a few small fish, which I secured for breakfast. On my return I found John still sitting up on his earthy couch, and staring into vacancy, disconsolate and sleepy. " Come, come, John," I said, "jump up, jump up, and wash yourself, and make a fire to cook these fish ! " The lad slowly gathered himself up, and paused in doubt. I saw that he had something on his mind, and presently he walked slowly up to me and gravely said, " Please, sir, where can I get some water ? " " Well, John," I replied, there is the sea, and there is the river ; and if that is not enough water for your morning ablutions, I am afraid I cannot provide any more." The fact was, there was no basiu, soap, and towel, and it never seemed to strike the lad that he could go down to the river, and use a little sand for soap, and the tail of his coat for a towel. At first it was the same thing with food : he could not eat things which afforded me a hearty meal. There is an excellent country cheese made out of sheep's milk, which, with a loaf of bread (which is always to be had at any village in Turkey), makes really a very good dinner, if you cannot get anything else ; but it was not like his beloved Cheshire, and for some time John could not touch it. He afterwards learned to rough it as well as any one, and made a most excellent servant, and he is now installed on my fann in Macedonia, as superintendent of the Eng- lish ploughs. The purchase value of land in Turkey varies in a most extraordinary manner, and seems to bear no relation to the interest on the capital which it will pay. In the town of Burgas, building land cannot be bought under five or six shillings a square yard, whUe in the VALUE OF LAND. 113 neighboring country it can be had for the same number of shillings per acre. Then again, further inland^ by Eskl Zaghra — where the soil is no richer — farm land cannot be had for £10 per acre. All depends upon local circum- stances, such as population, etc., etc. ; and the day will come when large fortunes will be made in Turkey by holders of large estates, which are sure to rise in value as the country becomes opened up by railways and roads of communication. I had finished my explorations in the neighborhood of Burgas, and commenced to make my preparations for my inland Journey. I could not get any information from Mr. Brophy or Captain St. Clair regarding the country beyond Kezanlik, and they strongly urged me not to at- tempt the further journey, as the danger from brigands was very great, and they could not answer for my life ; but I had learned from the experience of former travels that brigands seldom think of you if you do not think of tliem, and that to turn back on report of danger would soon limit a trip to a very small area. I had purchased a very good little horse for myself, at a cost of £8, but had difficulty in finding another for my servant, John. Brophy said that the Circassians generally had horses for sale ; and he kindly sent a messenger to our friend the "knight of the tea-pot," who sent back word that he knew of a horse about twenty miles off ; that he should send orders at once for it to be at Djeverli by the next morning, ready for my start ; and that I must pay the man whatever he asked for the ani- mal. The next morning arrived. I had hired pack- horses to carry my tents and baggage, but no horse had come for John. Brophy had kindly offered to accompany me on my travels as far as Kezanlik, and mounted John on one of his own animals until I might be able, at some of the towns we passed tlirough, to pick up another horse. We were in the saddle and just leaving the yard, when a mounted figure appeared in the distance, riding at full 8 114 TURKEY IN EUROPE. gallop in our direction and leading a grey horse ; and in a few minutes a fine young Circassian dashed up, and said, "Here is your horse, and his price is £6 10s." I dis- mounted, felt the animal's legs, which were satisfactory, paid the money, transferred the English saddle and John to his back, and the result was that he was immediately kicked off. I changed animals, and after a few playful kicks, we were off on our travels. On after reflection, I began to think that I was the owner of stolen goods in the form of that grey horse, and that our Circassian friend was a clear £6 10s. in pocket by the transaction ; but let us hope not. Our first day's ride was to Yanboli, on the river Tundja, by way of Kamabat. The latter town would be an important military post as the left advanced guard of an army intrenched at Burgas, whilst the right occupied Aidos. It is a lively town, with shops painted in brilliant colors ; and amongst them the English words "Colman's Mustard" were conspic- uous. A fine stone clock tower was being erected ; and I was told that the clock was ordered from Dent, in London. In traveling in Turkey, distance is always estimated by time instead of space, and one place is said to be so many hours from another. This is sometimes very puzzling, as the imagination of different individuals as to the speed at which a horse travels varies to a considerable degree. The proper estimate is the distance a keradjee horse — a pack animal — can travel with his load in an hour when doing his day's journey, and this may be taken at three miles. After leaving Karnabat, the first hour of our journey lay over rolling uplands devoid of trees, but with here and there some oak scrub. We then descended into a flat basin a few miles broad, stretching away in front as far as the eye could reach, and flanked on the right by the Bal- kan range, and on the left with rolling uplands. It was on the 19th of August, and the heat was excessive. Along this plain we passed as many as forty large tumuli scat- MONUMENTAL TUMULI. 115 tered here and tliere, singly and in groups of two and three. It seems unquestionable that these monuments are ancient burial-places ; and, if they are connected with the battle-field, it points to the strategical importance, even in ancient days, of this plain, which must have re- ceived the armies as they debouched from the Balkan. Tliese tumuli are found over the whole of Turkey, as well as in other parts of Europe and Asia; and they must have been adopted as monumental burial-places over an. immense extent of time. They are of three classes, of different periods : in the earliest are found remains of stone implements, together with human bones ; in the sec- ond gold and silver ornaments ; and in the third, and com- paratively recent class, there are iron imjplements. Some cover a circular wall, into which the human remains were thrown. There is one of these near the plains of Troy, which is filled to the top with calcined human bones ; while another in the same district was found to contain large earthenware jars, in each of which there was a skeleton. As we approached the low hills, which are covered with vineyards and fruit trees for miles around Yanboli, I ob- served literally thousands of large birds, which proved on closer inspection to be storks preparing for their migra- tion for the winter. These birds appear ia the spring, and disappear in the autumn, as regularly as the swallows, and their lives are respected in every part of the world which they patronize. Their habits are most peculiar and amus- ing, and they have a way of clapping their beaks together, which is exactly like vigorous human applause. As we rode through the groves of fruit trees, which were cov- ered by these birds, we were applauded right and left to such an extent that it was quite a triumphal march. A story is told of a goose egg having been surreptitiously placed in a stork's nest, and which in due course was hatched ; but the arrival and uncouth appearance of the "little stranger" created the utmost consternation among the straight-laced stork society, and scandal was rife. 116 TURKEY IN EUEOPE. A committee was appointed to examine into tlie matter, and a council was lield round the stork's nest. Judging by tlie "general applause," a unanimous decision was soon arrived at ; and to show that such peccadilloes could not possibly be permitted in stork society, the "little stranger" was gobbled up, and the supposed mother stork was pecked to death. It was dark when we arrived at the large khan at Yanboli. There is a family likeness among all Turkish khans : a large paved yard, surrounded by buildings, with a broad open veranda on the first floor and on the side which looks into the yard. You enter by a large gateway, surmounted by a room, over which vines climb prettily and look into the windows. On the right is a coffee and pot-house, with a large open but covered dais adjoining it. The sleeping rooms are ranged along the veranda, and are entirely devoid of furniture of any kind ; the stables are immediately below, and the odor from pack animals, which are never groomed, and which are too frequently covered, poor beasts! with sores, is something which must be smelled to be appreciated. The ride of forty miles on one horse in a very hot sun was conducive to hunger ; but an interminable time elapsed before a large dish of some kind of stewed meat made its appearance. Hunger is an excellent sauce, and I thought the stew very good ; but I refrained from asking of what it was made, as I remembered the story of the English- man who, stopping at an inn in France, and not knowing a word of French, had eaten largely of a dish which he thought most excellent, and came to the conclusion that it must be a preparation of duck ; but to set his mind at rest he beckoned to the gargon, and pointing to the dish said interrogatively, " Quack, quack ? " whereupon the ^I'aT'poTi shook his head, and replied, "Bow, wow." I retired to one of the small sleeping-rooms, and lay down upon a stone bench, with a dirty looking cushion as a pillow ; but no sooner had my head touched it than my face was creeping with what I thought were large ants. I jumped YANBOLL 117 up, and seized the candle to inspect them, when — oh, hor- ror ! they were bugs, in hundreds ; with heads erect, and defiant ah-, they went rampaging about, as though rejoic- ing over their expected feast. Happy thought ! I had^ some Keating' s Insect Powder, and with revengeful glee I scattered a whole handful of the fatal powder amongst them, expecting to see the instantaneous death of my enemies ; but not at all — these hardy carnivora rather seemed to like it, and so I rushed, sickened and defeated, from the room. But where to sleep ? that was the ques- tion ; for sleep I must, as we had a long journey before us the next day. I tried a bench in the pot-house, but "they" were there also. The yard was full of my old enemy, the talegas, or Turkish carriages, but they were stationary, and at rest, so I jumped into one, and rolled myself up in some hay, and tried to sleep. The hay was full of fleas, but I rather liked them by comparison; and thinking what delightfully active and industrious little animals they were, I fell asleep. I did not awake until past seven o'clock, and when I sat up in the carriage, I discovered that all the other talegas had departed, and, lilve Mr. Pickwick in his wheelbarrow, I was alone in the yard. But not alone, for a young Turk was sitting patiently by the talega, and upon seeing me awake he came politely forward, and "hoping that I had enjoyed my rest, would I now allow him to have his carriage ? " I found that the poor man, having a long journey be- fore him, had intended to leave at five o'clock in the morning, but finding a snoring Englishman in his car- riage, he, with the courtesy and jjatience which are so characteristic of his race, sat down until he awoke. Yanboli is a thriving town of about ten thousand in- habitants, and situated on the muddy river Tundja, which is here about fifty yards broad, and at this dry season had sunk so low that it was easily fordable. The banks are high, and it was evidently a very deep and important river when in flood. It is crossed by a good wooden 118 TURKEY m EUROPE. bridge, wliich leads to tlie railway station distant about a mile. The valley of the Tundja is one of the two routes an army, after passing the Balkan, would have to take in ad- vancing upon Constantinople, the other being the Maritza valley. The whole of the neighboring district of YanboU is a com-gro\A'ing country, and until lately the agricultural produce, together with the wool, was carried to Burgas for shipment ; but the opening of the railway to Con- stantinople has diverted the traffic, and Yanboli is now rising in importance at the expense of Burgas. The sheep of this district are small, but they produce the best wool which is to be found in Turkey ; however, that is not much in their praise, as the wool generally is coarse and kempy. The majority of these sheep are of a light brown color, and more resemble the Welsh breed in form than any other in this country. The mutton would be very good if it were not that all male sheep are killed as rams. The cattle are very handsome, but small, and the cows give very little milk. They are all of one color, and look like well-bred Aldemeys ; but they are more hardy than those delicate animals. The horses are small, wiry little animals, with great powers of enduranbe, and I noticed that their feet were particularly good. I can only account for this by the method of shoeing, which is simply an iron plate with a round hole in the centre, attached to the foot with five nails. The roads are very rough, but it is exceptional to see a lame horse. The w^orking cattle and buffaloes are shod in a similar manner. Yanboli possesses an excellent market ; and at this season of the year the piles of melons, pears, cucumbers, and large green capsicums, which lay at the foot of the Oriental houses, covered with vines bearing rich clusters of grapes, produced a very artistic effect. Our next day's journey was to Slivmia, about twenty miles off, and the seat of a Liva, or district next in impor- EMOTIONAL JUDGMENT. 119 tance to a viliiiet. And as we shall now be brouglit into contact with, the Turks, and shall afterwards leave the neighborhood of British consuls, and plunge into that unhappy part of the country which has since been the scene of all the massacres and bloodshed which have so shocked humanity, it may not be uninteresting to dwell for a time upon the circumstances which have brought the Osmanlis to this fair land, and which give them the right to govern. It is only by refreshing our memory with a brief history of the Turks that we can place ourselves in a position to judge fairly of the difficulties of government which lie in their path. When sweeping assertions, prompted by either emotional or party feeling, thrust away the whole of this fine nation to a distance which is without the pale of humanity, it suggests to those who know the people intimately an amount of injustice and even cruelty which can only be the product of irregulated reason. It is true that emotional feeling is one of the most beautiful mechanisms in the complicated and mysterious machinery which regulates human action, and that with- out it the heart of man would be but a stone ; but it must form a part and not the whole of that machinery, other- wise it loses force by irregularity of movement. The introduction of telegraphs and railways to the greater part of Europe within the last few decades has produced a great change in our estimate of the relation between time and space ; and the result is a rapidity of thought and a corresponding rapidity of action which gives a like velocity to the expectation that our wishes must be immediately realized. In the present day there is time to think, but very little time to reason ; and yesterday is forgotten in the thought of to-morrow. The inventions which have produced this rapidity of thought and action have barely arrived in Turkey, and she, there- fore, requires time before she can be expected to rush along the rapid stream of progress which is sweeping over Europe. 120 TURKEY m EUROPE. If we are to judge fairly of Turkey as slie is, and to dictate her course of action, we must carry back our thoughts to our own history a hundred years ago, and ask ourselves what would have been the amount of misery, ruin, and bloodshed which would have been produced among our own people if the experiment had been at- tempted of suddenly forcing upon them a complete change in their social and religious customs ? CHAPTER VII. THE TUEKS. Their Origin — "Western Emigration — Various Tribes — Their Slavery — Tlieir Komad Life — Wise Counsel — Their Religion — Persian Rivals — Tura and Arya — Babel — The Golden Age — Mahmoud Ghaznivide — The Race of Seljuk — A Quiver of Sultans — Togrul Beg — Alp Arslan — The Roum Dynasty — Turkish Cavalry — The Crusaders — The Tartars under Genghis Khan — The Seljuldan Turks— Soliman Shah — Ertoghrul and his choice — His son Othman — Sultan Orchan allies himself with Cantacuzenus — Death of Soliman and succession of Amurath — Origin of the Janizaries — Timour and Sultan Bajazid — Battle of Angora — Ambition of Timour. A CCORDING to the liistorian Aboii'lgazi Balidur- -^-^ Khan, the Turks are descended from Turk, the eldest son of Japhet, and are of the same primitive stock as the Tartars and Mongols. "But as in gazing at the sun the eyesight becomes dazzled by the brightness, so does the mind become confused when it attempts to regard the brilliancy of the origin of this illustrious race." The Turks were one of the five nomadic races which comprised the Turanian family of men. Some of the numerous tribes which formed this race have been erro- neously called Tartars ; but the latter people were more nearly allied to the Mongolians than the Turks. From the land of Tura, the Turkish tribes spread out as far as the Lena on the north (where they are still represented by the Yakuts), to the Black Sea, to the Oxus, beyond the Caspian, and to Asia Minor. They were known to the Chinese by the name of Hiong- nu and also Tu-kiu, from which the name Turk is sup- posed to be derived. These Hiong-nu formed an empii'e, 206 B.C., west of China; and after nearly three hundred 121 122 TURKEY IN EUROPE. years of warfare tliey were defeated by the Cliuiesej and split lip into a northern and soutliem empire. The Southerns afterwards united with the Chinese, and drove their ITorthern cousins away from their lands amongst the Altai mountains ; and this is supposed to have been the cause of the first inroad of the Turks upon Europe, and they probably represent the ancestors of the Huns and Avars. In the beginning of the third century the Mongols and Tungusians attacked the Southern Turks, and, driving them from their territories, created the second western migration. These various tribes are now to be found in the Turcomans east and west of the Caspian ; in the Us- beks of Bokhara, who are partly Finn; in the Nogai, north of the Black Sea and west of the Caspian ; the Bazianes and the Kumiiks of the Caucasus ; the so-called Tartars of Siberia ; the Bashkirs of Russia, who are partly Mongol ; the Kirghis of Kashgir ; the Youruks and Osman- lis of Asia Minor and Turkey in Europe. After the dispersion of the Southern Hiong-nu, some of the Turkish tribes became slaves to the great khan of the Geougen, and in the golden mountains of Altai were em- ployed as forgers of iron and makers of weapons of war. It is from these men that the Turks of Europe can claim their origin. From being makers of arms, they soon learned to use them with such terrible effect that, under their first leader, Bertezema, they cast off the yoke which pressed upon them, and, scattering their oppressors to the winds, established their royal camp in the golden moun- tains. The advantages of their nomadic life are well depicted in the advice given by a counselor to one of the succes- sors of Bertezema, urging him not to invade China. " The Turks," he said, "are not equal in number to one-hun- dredth part of the inhabitants of China. If we balance their power and elude their armies, it is because we wan- der without any fixed habitations, in the exercise of war and hunting. Are we strong ? We advance and conquer. TURKS. 123 Are we ifeeble ? "We retire and are concealed. Should the Turks confine themselves within the walls of cities, the loss of a battle would be the destruction of their empu'e. The ' bonzes ' preach only patience, humility, and the re- nunciation of the world. Such, King ! is not the religion of heroes," This breathes the genuine spirit of the Turanian race, and well exemplifies the roving character of the Turkish Court. Their religion, prior to their conversion to Mohammed- anism, was a mixture of the doctrines of Zoroaster and the traditions of their ancestors. They had their priests, and sung rude hymns in worship of the air, fire, water, and the earth, but they sacrificed to the supreme dei^. As might be expected, their laws were unwritten, and of a general character, the minor details being probably laid down by the order of heads of tribes. Yet there were general principles which they all acknowledged, and which were rigorously and impartially executed. Theft was punished by a tenfold restitution ; adultery, treason, and murder, with death. No chastisement was consid- ered too severe for the crime of cowardice. We have here all the elements of a stem justice, and these main princi- ples of morality, added to the free and independent life of waiTior shepherds, were the cause of that lofty and chivalrous character which always attached to the Turks as a nation. The rich grazings of their unbounded pasture-lands gave an almost unlimited supply of horses, and one of their armies alone numbered four hundred thousand cavalry. This gives some idea of the extraordinary power of these tribes in former days, and of the rapidity with which they could sweep over the land as conquerors. It was, in fact, a nomad kingdom. Their great rivals were the Persians — rivals in arms and rivals in race and customs, and Tura and Arya here stood face to face. The wandering life of the Turks was fitted for reflection rather than study, and we accordingly find them mostly 124 TURKEY m EUROPE. ignorant of science, while tlie sedentary habits of llie Per- sians placed tliem among the first nations of the world for scientific learning. The Turkish Empire, founded by Bertezema, increased under his successors until it burst by over-expansion, and was divided into three kingdoms ; and it is with one of these, which held its sway in the Golden Mountains of Altai, that we have now to deal. The Turanian and Aryan streams of emigration, with all their attendant tribes, were now eddying among each other in Scythia and the Caucasus, and we are told by Pliny that in the market of Dioscurias no less than one hundi'ed and thirty languages were spoken. This was literally a golden age, for that precious metal seemed to* form the material for all the furniture of the great Turk Emperor in his nomad court of the Altai Moun- taiQS ; and we hear of the great Disabul sitting in a chariot of gold, supported by golden peacocks, for which a horse was always kept ready harnessed, in order that, if His Royal Highness wished to move, he might not have the trouble of walking. The rich mines of Trebizond and the Caucasus furnished the precious metal, which, with the rich silks of China, added to the luxury of the age. In the reign of Chosroes, King of Persia, the Turks and the Byzantine Empire were united against theu' common enemy, but the more civilized Romans merely made use of the Turks as a temporary and useful weapon. The con- tempt in which the Turks held the Byzantine intrigue was manifested by the successor to Disabul, when in the sixth century the Emperor Tiberius, who proposed an invasion of Persia, sent ambassadors to salute him. With indignant anger the haughty monarch turned to them and said, " You see my ten fingers % You Romans speak with as many tongues ; but they are the tongues of deceit and perjury. To me you hold one language, to my subjects another, and the nations are successively deluded by your perfidious eloquence ; you precipitate your allies TURKS. 125 into war and danger, you enjoy their labors, and you neg- lect your benefactors. Hasten your return, and inform your master that a Turk is incapable of uttering or forgiv- ing falsehood, and that he shall speedily meet the punish- ment he deserves." In the middle of the seventh century the prophet Maho- met appeared, and, with his successors, spread his religion with lightning rapidity north, south, east, and west, until it rivalled Christianity in its converts, and included many of the Turkish tribes in the number. At the end of the tenth century the title of Sultan was first conferred on Mahmoud, the Ghaznivide, one of the most powerful of Turkish princes, who then reigned in the eastern provinces of Persia, and extended his domin- ions far into Hindostan. At this time the Turkish dynasties of the Tulunides and Akshidides reigned in Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, while the gi'eat tribe of Seljuk, with its shepherd warriors, un- der the name of Turcomans, inhabited the district of Bokhara. This warlike people quarreled with Sultan Mahmoud and his son and successor, Massoud, and with their splen- did cavalry — whose descendants may be seenjn the superb horses of Turkistan in the present day — they utterly de- feated him and the Ghaznivide. The victorious Sel- jukians immediately assembled to elect a king, but among so many noble warriors who was to make the choice ? The difficulty was soon overcome, and by a plan which made intrigue impossible. A number of arrows were suc- cessively inscribed with the name of a tribe, a family, and a candidate, and gathered together in a bundle. To pre- vent all chance of deceit, it was determined that the arrow — which was pregnant with the fate of nations — should be drawn by the hand of a child. We can picture these warlike chiefs assembled around the bundle of arrows, each thinking that another moment might make him the monarch of a host, as he watched the timid action of the little child who was to decide his fate. 126 TURKEY IN E UROPE. Presently a wild shout proclaimed that Togrul Beg, who was the son of Michel, who was the son of Seljiik, who was thirty-fourth in lineal descent from the great Afra- siab, Emperor of Tura, was at once the prizeman and their sultan. Seljuk had embraced the religion of Mahomet when he was encamped in the neighborhood of Samarcand, and his grandson Sultan Togrul was conspicuous for his zeal in the faith. Each day he repeated the five prayers which are enjoined to the true believer, and each week the two first days were consecrated to an extraordinary fast, and in every conquered city a mosque was completed before Togrul presumed to lay the foundation of a palace. Togrul died without children, and was succeeded by his nephew, Alp Arslan ; but the immense dominion of the Seljukian throne was not destined to be of long dura- tion, and after the death of Malek Shah, son and succes- sor to Alp Arslan, the empire was disputed by his brother and four sons, and divided into three dynasties, those of Kerman, Syria, and Roum, a.d. 1074. It is with the Roum dynasty that we have to deal, as it embraced Agia Minor, and was ruled by Sultan Soliman, a kinsman of Alp Arslan, who by great tact had turned the enmity of his cousin into friendship, and united his forces against the Greeks. It was during the reign of Soliman that the first Turk- ish troops were landed in Europe, and it came about in this way : — During the contest between Bryennius and Botoniates, who represented the European and Asiatic candidates for the Byzantine Empire at Constantinople, the aid of Soliman was solicited, and he united the Cres- cent and the Cross by joining his forces to those of Boto- niates. After the succession of that monarch, Sultan Soli- man was right royally entertained at Scutari on the Bos- phorus, and a body of 2,000 Turkish cavalry were sent across that water as a reinforcement to the Byzantine forces. TURKS. 127 ' The power of tlie Tarks in Asia Minor, and the rapid extension of the Mahommedan faith, soon alarmed all Christendom, and floods of gallant crusaders, made up of the flower of Christian knights from all parts of Europe, poured across the Bosphorus, many of them never to re- turn. Such was the number of these crusaders that the Greeks at Constantinople soon became alarmed at the in- creasing forces of their friends, and therefore, with the cunning peculiar to the empire, commenced intriguing with the Turks against their Christian allies, and such subtle obstacles and difficulties were raised that the gor« geous host which had crossed the Bosphorus with so much pomp and giandeur returned but the ragged fragment of its former self. During the internal quarrels that distracted the Byzan- tine empire and the foreign powers which invaded it, the Turkish rule in Asia Minor grew in strength, until in the thirteenth century the great Tartar host, guided by the genius of Genghis Khan, pressed on a wave of conquest which swept over the nations to the north, the south, the east, and west, until it overlapped Russia, Hindostan, China, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Asia Minor. The Seljukian dynasty of Roum fell prostrate before the Tartar storm, and the power of the Turk was crushed, but not destroyed. Military ambition is a potential force which expends itself in conquest, and like many another, the kingdom of the Great Mogul was snapped by over- expansion. When it seemed certain that Europe would be flooded by the Tartar cavalry, the forces of the Mogul were called away to prop up the empire on the side of Persia, and the nations breathed again. The Turks in Asia Minor began gradually to recover from the shock, and renewed their habitual wars against the Greeks, until the Sultans of Iconium again rose into notice. The necessities of the Seljukian Turks in Asia Minor had reached their far distant and now comparatively ancient home in Khorassan, where there still lived a large 128 TURKEY m EUROPE. tribe of tMs renowned race under the ntime of Ogliouz Turks. Actuated, it may be, by sympatliy, or it may be by pressure from Tartar foes, Soliman Shall, chief of the Oghouz Turks, broke, like a rift from a river-bank, from his native land, and with four hundred families of his tribe, headed by their male warriors, he wended his way towards Asia Minor, to mingle with his kinsfolk under the Sultan Aladdin of Iconium. Rough must have been the way, and hard the fare of these immigrant families, as they tramped over mountain and plain, through river and marsh, over the thousands of miles which separated them from their destination. Their chief, Soliman Shah, was drowned in the passage of the river Euphrates ; but his son, the brave Ertoghrul, the "Right-hearted Man," the progenitor of the future Ottoman power, immediately placed himself at their head. For weeks and months they wandered, until at last they approached their future home. One day, Ertoghrul, with his brave chiefs leading the van, had just crested a tedious hill, and were descending to the valley below, when they suddenly found themselves in the presence of two con- tending armies. Ertoghrul quickly formed his men in order of battle, and anxiously watched the fight. ' ' Which side, Effendim, shall we take?" asked his officers. "Yonder is the weakest," said Ertoghrul ; " charge, and onward to their rescue." This was the true spuit of chivalry, and it has adorned the Turks throughout their history. Generosity had its reward, and Ertoghrul dis- covered that the side whose cause he had espoused and won was no other than that of Sultan Aladdin himself. Ertoghrul was rewarded by a settlement near the shores of the Euxine, with the title of Emir, and he vigorously prosecuted the war against the neighboring Greek settle- ments. Such, at least, is the account as given by Mewlana Ayas, who heard it from the stirrup-holder of Ertoghrul' s grandson, Orchan, who heard it fi'om Ertoghrul himself. He was succeeded by his son Osman, or Othman, a.d. TURKS. 129 1299, a born military genius, and the founder of tlie Tuik- ish race in Europe. From him comes their name of 0th- mans, or Ottomans, or Osmanlis. Othman was not only a soldier, he was also a statesman. As he conquered he organized, and left a good administration in his path, thus securing the fruits of his exertions. He gathered volunteers as he went, and organized them into armies, and under color of waging a holy war against the infidels, he infused a fanatical zeal into his troops. He formed a regular army and fortified his towns, and soon gained possession of nearly the whole of Nicomedia and Bithy- nia. His son Orchan prosecuted the conquests of his father, and gladdened his old age by the news of the fall of Brusa, which henceforth became the Asiatic capital of the Ottomans. Othman professed religious toleration to the Christians he had conquered, and his dying words are the springs from which flow the religious toleration of the Turks in the present day. "My son, I am dying, and I die with- out regret, because I leave such a successor as thou art. Be Just, love goodness, and show mercy. Give equal pro- tection to all thy subjects, and extend the law of the Prophet. Such are the duties of princes upon earth, and it is thus that they bring on them the blessings of Hea- ven." Othman gained such an influence over the minds of men that he may be said to have reigned with the greatest power after his death, which took place at an ad- vanced age in a.d. 1326. The sword which he handled in his battles, is looked upon with sacred reverence by the Ottoman nation, and the act of girding it upon each suc- cessive sultan is equivalent to our own coronation cere- mony. The last counsels, the justice and moderation of Oth- man, have been transcribed by the Turks as a Royal Tes- tament. On the death of the Sultan of Iconium, which took place in the year 1300, Othman had assumed the title of Sultan, and thus founded the line of those despotic mon- 9 130 TURKET IN EUROPE. arclis whicli liave reigned in direct descent in Turkey in Europe to the present day. He was succeeded, as we said, by his son Orchan, who quickly turned to account and improved the inheritance of military organization he had received from his father. The regular army was increased, battering-trains were formed, and he extended his sway to the very banks of the Bosphorus. The office of Vizier was introduced, and science, theology, and every branch of learning was en- couraged. It was now that the foundations were laid of the naval power of Turkey which was destined for such great achievements in the future, and three hundred vessels rode gaily in the Bay of Smyrna. The internal dissensions of the Greeks soon laid open the door of Europe to the entry of the Turks. In the rebellion of Andronicus the Younger against his grand- father, the Em^Deror Andronicus Palteologus, Joannes Cantacuzenus took the part of the former, who was his friend and mentor, and in the troubles which ensued he injudiciously called in the aid of his intimate friend, Umur Bey, the Turkish Prince of Aidin, who immedi- ately joined him with a fleet of 380 vessels and an anny of 28,000 men. "With these he passed over to Europe, and marched by the Hebrus upon Demotica, which was be- sieged by the Bulgarians and defended by the Empress Irene. Umur quickly defeated the Bulgarians, and whilst encamped outside the town he received the cordial thanks of the empress for his timely assistance, and, at the same time, an invitation, accompanied by costly presents, to visit her. But here the innate chivalry of the Turk was conspicuous. In the absence of his friend, Emur consid- ered it indelicate to visit the wife, and although it was the depth of winter, and the hardships of the camp were great, he remained camped outside the walls of the town. He afterwards selected 2,000 choice troops, and marched upon Servia, but was obliged to relinquish the campaign on account of the severity of the winter. TURKS. 131 It is sad to relate that an offer of Zx^c/t^/i/^/^ induced him to withdraw his assistance from his friend Canta- cuzenus, but it is only fair to state that his own dominions were at that time threatened by the Latins. Cantacuzenns now hurried to a more powerful Turkish ally in the Sultan Orchan, the son of Othman, who had been recommended to him by his friend Umur. ISTot only were the forces of Orchan and Cantacuzenns united, but also their families, and a relationship was formed between the Greek and Ottoman empires by the marriage of Theodora, the daughter of Cantacuzenns, T\ith the Sultan Orchan. N'otwithstanding this alliance the Ottoman Prince after- wards took the side of the Genoese of Constantinople, against his father-in-law, but after the conclusion of the war Europe was evacuated by the Turkish forces. Their acquaintance with the country had evidently pro- duced a favorable impression, and after the abdication of Cantacuzenns it was renewed under the brave Prince Soli- man, a much-loved son of Orchan, who, in friendly al- liance with the Emperor, landed a force in Thrace, and from that day to this the banner of the Turk has remained in Europe. Soliman was soon after killed by a fall from his horse while exercising with the jerld, a light wand, used as a javelin, and which is a favorite Arab pastime. Such was the grief of the aged Sultan, that the death of his favorite son may be said to have broken his heart, and he died A.D. 1360. He was succeeded by Amurath, another son, not less brave than his dead brother, and he carried the Turkish banners over the whole of Thrace, fixed his capital at Adrianople, and an Ottoman monarch for the first time reigned in Europe. He at once pushed his conquests north of the Balkan, and soon had possession of the country from the Danube to the Adriatic, and the great battle fought on the plains of Kossova brought the Servians, the Bosnians, the Bui- 133 TUllKET IN EUR OPE. garians, and tlie Albanians under the dominion of the Turks. It was in the reign of Amurath that a body of men was organized, who, although born Christians, were to be educated to become the terror of their o^vn race, the ally of the Turk, and a destructive and disturbing element in Europe for more than 400 years. By the Mohammedan law the Sultan is entitled to a fifth part of the spoil and captives in battle, and by the advice of the Vizier, Amurath was induced to apply this law by selecting the stoutest and most beautiful of the captive Christian youths, who were educated in the Mohammedan religion and the use of arms. This force was named by a celebrated dervish, who, standing before the troops, stretched forth his hand and said, "Let them be called Yengi cheri," or new soldiers (Janizaries). "May their countenance be ever bright! their hand victorious ! their sword keen ! may their spear always hang over the heads of their enemies ! and wheresoever they go may they return with a wliite * faceP The Jani- zaries became the flower of the Turkish troops, and it is curious to observe that the principal weapon \vith which the Ottomans gained their European victories was made of Christian metal. The custom of filling their ranks from Christian captives only was afterwards abolished, and they were taken from the Christian subjects as youths, and educated in the Mohammedan religion. The importance of this force will be realized by the reader when it is remembered that only Mohammedans are allowed to serve in the Ottoman army, consequently the drain by war and disease upon the Mohammedan pop* ulation was excessive. The statesmanlike minds of the early Ottoman rulers soon marked the difficulty, and met it by the creation of the Janizaries, who had to bear the brunt of most of the battles. The destruction of this force by Sultan Mah- * Shining, clieerful. TUEES. 133 mond nearly five linndred years afterwards, and the neg- lect to carry out the provision for recruiting the Turkish forces from the Christian population, must, if it continues, eventually exhaust the Ottoman military power by dry- ing up the source from which it springs, namely, the Mohammedan population. I will not follow the reigns of successive sultans, who extended the Turkish conquests both in Asia Minor and Europe, and took possession of Macedonia, Thessaly and Greece, until the Byzantine Empire was hemmed in almost to the walls of Constantinople. The battles of Kossova and of Mcopolis reduced the Slaves and Bulgarians to Turkish subjects ; and Con- stantinople would have fallen sooner than it did had it not been for the second Tartar wave of conquest, under Timour, which swept over almost the same ground as its predecessor under Genghis Khan. The Tartar army was sweeping over Asia Minor when Sultan Bajazid assembled all his forces, consisting of four hundred thousand men, to resist it. The two armies met at Angora ; and the defeat of the Ottoman Sultan which followed may be attributed to his overweening pride and love of sport. While in the presence of the enemy he actually employed his troops for a great deer drive in the forests and mountains about Angora. The able old war- rior, Timour, was not likely to miss such a favorable oppor- tunity ; and he fell upon the Turks in their state of dis- order, and signally defeated them. Such was the ambition and confidence of Timour, that instead of entering Europe across the Bosphorus, which lay before him, he foi-med the project of conquering Egypt and Africa, and of then crossing to Europe by the Straits of Gibraltar, and, after conquering that continent, to re- turn to his Persian quarters by way of Russia ! ^Yhen we consider the ground he had already covered in his victorious march, this ambitious design need not create sui-prise ; but how insignificant in comparison are even the conquests of Napoleon in modem times ! 134 TURKEY IN EUROPE. Fortunately for Europe, the attention of Timour was bent back upon China, where he met his death ; and his former conquests dissolved. The Turks continued to make good their footing in Europe ; but the brightest gem of their newly acquired kingdom still glittered as a much-coveted prLze on the shores of the Bosphorus, and the Byzantine Empire yet lived in Constantinople. CHAPTER VIII. Turkish Government. Turkish. Government — Various Races under its Sway — Character of the Turkish Soldier — Feudal Tenure — Pillars of the State — " Sublime Porte " — Pashas and Beys — Division of Private Property — Civil Administration- Judicial Courts — Monasteries on Mount Athos — Pilgrims — Expounders of the Law, Civil and Religious — Mohammed II. — Educational Institutions. A S the conquering Turkish forces moved over Asia -^^ Minor, and afterwards over what is now called Turkey in Europe, they found the land occupied then, as now, by numerous races of different religions and dif- ferent interests and customs. Armenians, Kurds, Druses, Maronites, Arabs, Chaldeans, Greeks, Albanians, Slavs, Bulgarians, Jews, Wallachians, Gipsies, etc., all clamored for due consideration as Turkish subjects, and all in- trigued one against the other. If the British House of Commons had to legislate for nineteen Irelands instead of one, it would give some idea of the difficulties of government in Turkey ; and some of its members would then perhaps be more Just in their criticisms, and generous in their judgment on that un- happy country. How did the nomad Turkish court and army gather in this surging mass of human passions, and bring them under discipline and control ? We must dismiss from our mind for a time the Turkish administrators of the present, and picture the chivalrous warriors of the fourteenth century in all their pomp and power, fervid in following the tenets of their creed, and who looked back with pride upon the history of their race, which told in its pages of a conquered area larger than that of Europe. We must picture tkis conquering 135 136 TURKEY IN EUROPE. army with its desiDotic head proudly entering the land to hold it, and consider how they came to restrain the con- quered races, and grow in government until they could call them subjects. Where now there is apathy, procrastination, and venality — the poisons which destroyed the Byzantine Empire and afterwards inoculated the Turks — there was then energy, decision, and chivalry. Where now the future rulers of the country are educated under the effeminating influence of the seraglio, they then studied the art of ruling in the command of armies and in the government of provinces. Wherever an army passed, it could drop from its ranks rulers and statesmen ready to govern by force tempered with Justice, instead of by laws disfigured with venality. A nation may change its char- acter, but not its nature, and there is one point in common with both the past and the present, and that is that the Turkish rank and file, the real pith of the nation, were then, as now, distinguished for their patience, discipline, sobriety, bravery, honesty, and modesty,* and to these qualities I may also add that of humanity, although I know it will excite an indignant exclamation from many at the present moment. But look at the Turkish soldier in private life, and you find him gentle and kind to chil- dren and women, and exceedingly fond of animals. His first thought after a long and tiring day's march is his horse. As soon as he has made the animal comfortable, then he thinks of the man. When he is exasperated by what he thinks are insults to his creed, he kills and slays as his teaching tells him, and he appears a fanatical madman ; but he is then outside his real nature, and not within it. It is but the other day that I saw thirteen thousand of these brave men arrive fresh from the front and all the hardships of the Servian campaign. They were billeted for ten days all over the town of Salonica, * This last term is that used by Gibbon, and is very apposite. There is an absence of all brag about the Turkish soldier. GOVERNMENT AXD ADJIINISTRATION. 137 and there was not a single complaint, or cause for com- plaint, of their conduct, from man, woman, or child. The streets, although full of soldiers, were as quiet as in ordinary times. "What other troops in tlie world would behave in such an admirable manner \ Read the greatest authorities on the subject. Yon Hammer, Gibbon, Boue, Ubicini, Creasy, and all agree in praise of both the past and present character of the Turkish rank and file. But it is the rank and file that depicts the character of the nation, and not the corrupt oligarchy, which, from its prominence, misrepresents it. We find, then, that the rank and file of the Turkish people is the same now as ever, so that it is not the nation, but the rulers, which have changed, and this change has been brought about through the corrupt influences which were handed over to them by the Byzantine Empire. As soon, therefore, as the head of the Turkish nation shall be purified, we shall find the whole constitution in a healthy state — there is no disease of the body. The com- bination in Turkish government of despotism, with the freedom of the most democratic of republics, is unique. In Turkey there is no aristocracy. All men below the Sultan are equal, not only in the eyes of the law, but by creed and custom. A shoeblack may be made Grand Yizier, and it is by no means uncommon to see some of the highest officials of the State who have been servants to predecessors in office. There are no family names, but in some cases titles are hereditary. To return to the conquering army. As it entered the country it had to establish order, and this was done on the feudal system, by creating what were called Timars, Ziamets, and Beyliks — military grants of land carrying with them the obligation of providing a military force for the service of the State in case of need. A Timar was granted to a distinguished soldier, and contained from three to five hundred acres of land, and the 0"VNTier or spahi (cavalier) was bound to supply a mounted cavalry soldier for every 3,000 aspres of its reve- 138 TURKEY IN EUROPE. nue. A Ziamet comprised upwards of 500 acres, and Beyliks were still larger grants. These fiefs were heredit- ary in the male line. A certain number of these grants were grouped into a district, and over the district was placed an officer, with the title of Sandjak Bey — Sandjak meaning a "standard," or flag, which generally carried a command of 5,000 horse. Each Sandjak Bey was given a horse' s tail, as a distinctive mark of command. Here then was a feudal tenure, and a rough-and-ready form of government, applicable at a moment' s notice, and backed by a sufficient force to maintain order. Timars and Ziamets were eagerly sought by both soldiers and offi- cers, and became prizes to incite to valor and gallant deeds. But although left in possession of their holdings they did not represent the permanent organization of government. The ancient and figurative idea of Turkish government was that of four pillars which supported the royal tent. The first of these was figurative of the Viziers ; the second of the Cadiaskers, which would probably mean railitary judges ; the third, Befterdars (treasurer) ; the fourth, Nis- chandyes (Secretaries of State). Among Eastern nations a tent was not the simple covering which is suggested by the word in England, but a far more elaborate dwelling. It had its passages and apartments, and grand and smaller entrances. To follow out the idea we must picture the life of these nomad Eastern Sovereigns, moving here and there at the head of their army, sometimes to make war on a foreign power, sometimes to visit one part or another of their vast dominions. It was, in fact, a nomad government. It was customary for the great officials — the pillars of the royal tent — to meet at the great portal, within easy reach of the voice and ear of their royal master, there to discuss the affairs of State, sub limine portcB ; hence the origin of the term "Sublime Porte," which now designates the Turkish Government. Tent court-life in the East is carried on much in the same way in the present day — when sovereigns occupy Q VER2fMENT AND ADMINISTRA TION. 139 their royal pavilions. I can remember being presented to the Shah of Persia, many years ago, when he was dwell- ing with his court on the banks of the river Euphrates, in a pavilion which exactly answers the description of the ancient court-life of the Turkish monarchs. In addition to the figurative four pillars of the royal tent, there were other officers of government, designated agas^ or rulers, which were of two kinds. The outer agas were military rulers, and their number was, from the nature of the case, very considerable ; the inner agas attended the court and serai. The serai is the palace, and the harem the women's apartments of the palace, so that the two should not be confounded, as is often the case. The inner agas comprised the eunuchs who attended on the harem. Besides these officers, there were the expounders of the law, or ulemas. The first pillar of the royal shelter, the Yiziers — which signifies the "bearers of burdens," the weight of govern- ment — were four in number, of which the Grand Yizier was the head. The second pillar, or Cadiaskers, were two in number, one for Europe and one for Asia, and watched over the legal affairs of the State. Under them were: 1st, the Khodya, or tutor of the royal princes ; 2d, the Muftis, or exj)ounders of the sacred law, and afterwards a third appointment was made — ^viz., the Judge of Constanti- nople. The assembly in council of the four pillars was called the Divan. It was attended by a chief secretary, or Reis Effendi, who, from being able to visit and gain the ear of all the officials, was an officer of considerable importance, and he sometimes became practically the most powerful man in the State. The Grand Yizier sat at the head of the Divan in the absence of the Sultan, and he could convoke a special Divan in his own tent when he considered it necessary. At the head of aU sat the Padishah or Great King. We will suppose, then, that some of the Turkish generals 140 TURRET IN EUROPE. have crossed the Dardanelles, pushed forward with their forces, and occupied a large part of Thrace, establish- ing their Sandjak Beys, Beyliks, Ziamets, and Timars as they go. The great Sultan follows wdth his main army and "royal tent," thus carrying with him all the ma- chinery of government. He groups his numerous Sandjak Beys under two heads, one for Europe and one for Asia, and to these he gives the title of Beyler Bey, "Bey of Beys ; " or Mir-Miran, " Emir of the Emirs ;" and to one he gives two, and to the other three horses' tails, to signify their power. Hence we have the common term, a "pasha of two tails." The term pasha, which means "the shah's foot," or one whom the Sovereign employed (there were also the "eyes " and "hands" of the Sovereign power), was not originally used in a military sense, but was given to literary as well as to any other Turkish subjects who might distinguish themselves in the eyes of the sultan. In possession of the land of Europe, it was necessary to appropriate it, according to ancient Turkish custom, for three purposes : 1st, Yacoufs, or church lands ; 2d, private property ; 3rd, domain lands. The revenues of the Va- cottfs, or ecclesiastical lands, were devoted to pious and charitable purposes, to the support of mosques and public schools, which received their education through the eccle- siastical authorities. The pupils were, in fact, educated in the moral and sacred precepts of the Koran. The private property was subject to different liabili- ties, according to the religion of the owner. If he was a Mussulman it was called asclcriie, or tithable, the owner paying as a tax a tithe of the produce in kind to the State, and there was no other burden upon it. If left in the hands of a Christian, its holder paid tribute, or JcJia- radj to the State, which consisted of a capitation-tax, and also of a tax levied on the estate, which was sometimes a fixed sum, according to its extent, and was sometimes an impost on its proceeds, varying from an eighth to one-half. QO VERNMENT AND ADMINISTRA TION. ] 41 The domain lands included: 1st, the Miri, or those revenues which were appropriated to the State treasury ; 2nd, unoccupied, or waste lands, which afterwards became similar to our "common" lands in England ; 3rd, the private demesnes of the Sultan, of which there are a large amount in both Turkey in Europe and Asia ; 4th escheated and forfeited lands (which are now usually sold by public auc- tion) ; 5th, the appanages of the Yalideh Sultan (Sultan's mother), and other members of the blood-royal ; 6th, lands assigned to the offices tilled by viziers ; 7th, lands assigned to pashas of the second rank ; 8th, lands assigned to the ministers and officers of the palace ; 9th, the Bey- liks, Ziamets, and Timars, already mentioned.* It will be seen that the administrators of the Govern- ment were principally military men, and it must be re- membered that we are following the wake of a conquering army, which was obliged to fill its ranks from a distance. Consequently, this abstraction of military governors and officers of state became such a straia on the resources of the army that it tended to weaken the forces by which dominion was maintained. To meet this difficulty, which began to be one of alann- ing importance, Sultan Orchan, the son and successor of Othman, utilized the ancient Turkish custom of ajDpro- priating a fifth of the conquered subjects as slaves. He commenced by taking annually a thousand of the Christian children of from twelve to fourteen years of age. The greatest care was bestowed upon their education, in order to fit them for either the military, civil, or ecclesias- tical professions, for which by nature and disposition they might prove to be most fitted. They had to pass through four successive schools before the final selection was made, and were then distributed as officers of the state. The abstraction of these Christian youths was not con- sidered a hardship by their parents, although they were, of course, to be educated in the Mohammedan faith ; but, on the contrary, it was rather looked forward to as a piece ♦Creasy. 142 TURKEY m EVROPE. of good fortune, because it was likely to give the family greater influence -with the ruling powers. It was out of this body of youths that the celebrated Janizaries — to whom I have previously alluded — were taken ; and it is curious to mark that the greatest persecutors of the Chris- tians — those, in fact, who in after times became the leaders of most of the atrocities which were too often committed — were not of Turkish, but of either Albanian, Greek, Sla- vonic, or Bulgarian blood. The treatment of Christians in the early times of the Ottoman conquest was not severe. It was only when the Porte became corrupt, and relaxed its vigorous and active administration for the luxuries and venality bequeathed to it by the Byzantine Empire that the disgi-aceful perse- cutions of the Christians commenced. There is a maxim of the old Turkish law which says that "the bended head shall not be stricken off;" and in former times this maxim was respected. The following question was once put to the Mufti: "If eleven Mussul- mans without just cause kill an infidel (Christian) who is the subject of the Padishah, and pays tribute, what is to be done ? " To this the Mufti replied : " Though the Mus- sulmans should be a thousand and one, let them all die." The Christian subjects who paid tribute were called "rayahs." They usually cultivated the land as tenants, on the metayer system of their Mussulman landlords. Such was the commencement of the " Government " of the Porte. At its head sat supreme the Sultan, the depos- itary and representative of the law, which he can modify, but cannot change. His ordonnances are called " Hatt-i- cherifs," or "illustrious writings," and " Hatt-i-huma- youns," or "august writings." This system of government continued up to the time of Murad or Amilrath III., a.d. 1574-95, who did not in any way alter its principles, but re-arranged the Sandjaks, or livas (a Sandjak Bey had the title of mir-i-liva), into great Eialets. There were in the whole empire twenty- six Eialets, and each contained a number of Sandjaks, QO VERNMENT AND ADMINISTRA TION. I43 of which there were altogether one hundred and sixty- three. The Sandjaks again were divided into districts, designated Cazas, or centers of judicial courts, so called because they were presided over by a Cadi or Cazi, viz., a judge. Some of these were formed of a town and its suburbs, and others of groups of villages (nahiehs). Again, each separate village, however small, had and has a headman, or codja-'basTi% elected annually from among the villagers to represent them, and who is held resj)ons- ible to the superior courts for the carrying out of any orders which may be promulgated. This organization lasted until the reign of Sultan Mah- moud, 1834, and it had contained within itself the military government of Beyler Beys and Sandjak Beys, or heredit- ary feudal chiefs. As might be expected, this tended to build up an aristocracy, which, wielding as it did a mili- tary power, was liable to become despotic and independ- ent. It was the corruption which was generated by the weak as well as venal government of several successive sultans which had permitted these military despots to become so intolerable that Sultan Mahmoud took the bold course of abolishing them, and he instituted a new classi- fication of the provinces into twenty-eight governments, thirty-one Sandjaks, and fifty-four independent Voi- vodes ; but shortly afterwards, when Sultan Abdul Med- jid came to the throne and the Tanzimat was established, the old classification into Eialets was re-established. It is evident that this organization was one of centralization — a principle excellent in itself, providing it is not over- strained, that is, providing a proper amount of independ- ence of action is permitted to each representative part of the organization. This permission was not granted to the Eialet classification, and it was found that the center was smothered by the accumulation of work which poured upon it from all quarters. To remedy this the present system of administration was introduced in 1864, which consists in replacing the Eialets with great administrative centers caUed VllaietSy which are, to a certain extent, 144 TURRET IN EUROPE. indepeudent governments subject to tlie laws of the whole empire. It was determined to form a trial Vilaiet, in the first instance, in that of Touna, on the Danube, and it was found to answer so well that it was extended to the whole empire, wliich was divided into twenty-seven Vilaiets, comprising 123 Livas, or Sandjaks, and, as before, the Livas are divided into Cazas and the Cazas into Nahiehs. This did not include Constantinople, which was formed into a separate Viluiet, neither did it include the Leba- non, which, after the massacres in Syria in 1860, received a special and independent administration. It will be seen that even the latest organization is founded upon the ancient system of the Turks, and that it provides a ready and efficient means for reaching every subject in the empire. As it would weary some of my readers — and yet interest others — to enter into the details of Turkish administration, I transfer that part of my work to Appendix D, and wUl here pass on to the interesting and comparatively inde- pendent state of Mount Athos and other monasteries. The existence of these semi-independent establishments is another example of the many complications which sur- round Turkish government. Mount Athos occupies a territory stretching from the extremity of a promontory on the confines of Macedonia, between the gulfs of Contessa and Monte Santo. This magnificent mountain, rising from the very sea, in the form of a beautifully-wooded cone, upwards of 6,000 feet high, would be an island were it not for a narrow isthmus about 2,000 yards broad, which attaches it to the continent. Dotted about on its sides are, altogether, twenty monaster- ies, some of them of great antiquity, and dating as far back as the reign of Constantine the Great. Two of these monasteries, Zographos and Chilantari, were founded in the twelfth century by Etienne Nemania of Servia, and may be called Slavonic. They are occupied by Servian and Bulgarian monks, and speak the Slave language. Another, and a very important one as far as political GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION. 145 affairs are concerned, is called Pantalimon or Rossicon (Russian), restored and endo^Yed by Catherine II. It is inhabited by a mixture of Greek and Russian monks, in the proportion of 170 to 350, but a fierce national contro- versy rages between them. The Russian monks have for long been endeavoring to encroach upon the monastic rights of the Greeks of Mount Athos ; and in 1874 the Greeks refused to recognize the right of the Russians to have a separate or national monastery, maintaining that all the monasteries on the mountain are Greek Church property, and as such should be under the direct control of the Patriarch at Constantinople, and under the juris- diction of their monastic constitution (presently to be described), as granted by the Greek Patriarch and sanc- tioned by the Porte. The Council of Monks, composed of the elected repre- sentatives of all the monasteries on the mountain, formally intimated to the Russian monks that the monastery which they occupied was not Russian property, but belonged to the monastic congregation ; that consequently its chief abbot must be an Ottoman subject, and that its internal administration must be conducted according to the rules prescribed by their constitution. The Russian monks ap]pealed to the Greek Patriarch for his decision, and were strongly sujDported by General Ignatieff, the Russian Ambassador. It is a complicated question, for the Greek Patriarch makes it a handle for encroaching upon the independent rights of the monasteries, an opportunity for which he had long been looking. The Russian monks are aware of this, and assisted by their ambassador at head- quarters, they play upon the greed for power of the Greek Patriarch, but the Greek community at large is highly indignant at the attempt to interfere with existing rights. This question has grown from the time when Russia and Greece were united in their intrigues against the Porte, when Russia was making use of Greek Pan- Hellenic ambitions to further Pan-Slavonic schemes ; but the hollowness of that alliance is now discovered, and any 10 146 TURKEY IX EUROPE. attempt on the part of Kiissia to encroach on Greek privi- leges is indignantly repelled. The question is still before the Porte, which has to steer between the intrigues of the Greek Patriarch on the one hand, and the Russians on the other. With the exception of the three I have enumerated, all the remaining seventeen monasteries of Athos are Greek. Besides these large institutions, there are eleven small monasteries, and as many as three hundred hermitages, besides a number of farms belonging to and worked by the community. The population is entirely male, and no female is even permitted to enter the precincts of the monastic property. The autonomy of Athos was founded by the Emperor Leo YI., A.D. 911, and it was confiiTned by Mahomet II., who was content to impose a small tribute upon the monks, and the independence of the mountain has been main- tained ever since. A common law regulates all the monasteries of the Greek Church, both at Mount Athos and elsewhere. The com- munity consists of two classes — the koinobia, in which the members live together and work for the common good ; and the idiorrhythmia, composed of anchorites, who live alone in their cells, except on feast days, when they join in the common repast. The koinobia are governed by a Wigoumene, or superior, elected by the community, the anchorites by a council of epitropes elected for a fixed period. In 1875, a Russian monk named Macarios was elected Mgoumone of the Pantalimon, upon which the Greek portion of that mon- astery, who were in the minority, remonstrated and endeav- ored to annul the election, in consequence of the foreign nationality of Macarios, and they refen-ed the case to the Greek Patriarch at Constantinople, but through the influ- ence of GeneiTil Ignatieif the aiopointment was confirmed. The Patriarch bridged the difficulty by declaring that the church did not recognize any nationality, and that foreign- ers who entered the monasteries of Mount Athos lost ipso facto their nationality, and became Ottoman subjects. GOVEnNMENT AXD ADMimSTIiATIOIT. I47 "Tlie General Monastic Assembly" is conixDosed of epistates (deputies) from the twenty monasteries. It sits at Karies, and is commonly called the Council of the Holy Mountain. It is presided over by five representatives elected for five years. Each year the five representatives render their accounts, and they alone have the right of affixing the seal to the acts of the council. Karies is the capital of the autonomous state and has a cathedral, a bazaar, and the konak or government house, presided over by a Caimakam, vrho represents the Turkish author- ity in the monastic estate, and is charged with the police and customs of the island."^ Pilgrimages are made from all iDarts of Turkey to Mount Athos, and the pilgrims may be numbered by thousands. There are many other monasteries scattered here and there about Turkey, especially about the Balkan range. The largest, and one which rivals in size and gi'andeur any that exist at Mount Athos, is that called Rilo monastery, about twelve miles from Samakov. The size of this estab- lishment may be imagined when it is known that it sometimes houses and feeds upwards of a thousand pilgrims at one time. I visited it in 1874, and although I have traveled over many parts of the world, I have never seen any scenery so grand and beautiful as that of Kilo. Mountains 9,000 feet in height look down into the very court-yard of the monas- tery, which stands amidst beautiful woods over a rocky mountain bum. Grassy glades, rocky heights, cascading streams, woods with majestic trees of great variety, fiower- ing shrubs, ferns and flowers, all blend together to add to the enchantment of the i^lace, which, combined with a pure and bracing air, makes residence at the monastery most enjoyable. The revenues of the institution must be very large, as the property extends over a considerable area, and con- tains several farms, which are well-managed ; it also re- * Ubicini. 148 TURKEY IN EUROPE. ceives an income of £4,000 per annum from Russia. The pilgrims are not confined to tlie male sex, but include women and children. Some of the monks are very austere in their habits, but others do not appear to object to the good things of this world. I was rather amused by an incident which oc- curred during a visit I paid to the abbot. In answer to my questions concerning the monastic institutions, he in- formed me that on entering the order all worldly thoughts and comforts were resigned. Shortly afterwards, the conversation turned upon the farm and its products, upon which he inquired whether I had ever tasted the plum brandy which was made in the country, and on my reply- ing in the negative, he hospitably rose and opened a large /L cupboard in the room, were lay bottles of liquors and glasses, and many other things that spoke of creature comforts — but perhaps they were only intended for visit- ors ? The interior of the chapel of the monastery is very gorgeous, the screen being all gilt, with many paintings of saints which are fairly executed. All the ornaments come from Russia. The outside walls of the chapel are covered with fresco paintings representing Paradise and Purgatory, and some of the scenes depicted in the latter state are not of a decent character. An influx of pilgrims took place while I was staying at the monastery, and many had come over a hundred and fifty miles with their families to benefit by the holy blessings they were to re- ceive at the end of the pilgrimage. The faith of these poor people was very touching. There was one poor Bul- garian young woman with a sick child about five years of age, whom she never let out of her clasped arms for a mo- ment. Death was distinctly written on the face of the poor boy, but the mother's faith was strong, and she looked hopefully and smilingly down upon her child. Sometimes, however, a look of terror would flash across her face, but she soon smiled it off with hope, and spoke with the greatest confidence that the child would live, for "had it not been sprinkled with the holy water of the GO VERNMENT AND ADMINISTRA TION. 149 monastery?" I fear the poor boy never readied Ms eartlily home. The large amount of real estate which is attached to the monasteries in Turkey establishes in a certain sense Christian Church lands as a part of the Mohammedan State, since these lands first pay tribute to the Porte, and, secondly, an annual sum to the Greek Patriarch. The monasteries of Mount Athos pay annually about £660 to the Porte, and £2,000 to the Greek Patriarch. They are in a somewhat similar position to the monas- teries in England in the time of Henry VIII., and the time may come when some reforming sultan may, like our own king, sweep them away. In dwelling upon the government and administration in Turkey, I must not omit those institutions which were in- tended to produce the learning which should accompany those in power. According to the Mohammedan faith, secular teaching is so subordinate to and dependent upon religious instruc- tion, that in the earlier times we naturally find aU the public instruction of Mohammedans placed in the hands of the riema, or hierarchy of the sacred law, if I may so express it, for Mohammedan law and religion are so in- timately connected and we find the expounders of each so closely assimilated that they form one body in the hierarchy. The earliest rulers of the Ottoman Empire, in the days when it was one of the most vigorous governments in the world, recognized the importance of national education, and Sultan Orchan, a.d. 1326-59, was especially conspic- uous in this respect. He founded schools and colleges in aU parts of the empire, but all these schools were of a theological character, were attached to the mosques, and were under the tutelage of the L'lema. This principle of education lasted until 1846, when secular education was first introduced, and the ruption of the religious from the secular teaching of the Mohamme- dan Turks was one of the most important and radical re- 150 TURKEY IN EUROPE. forms in tlie history of tliat country, for it struck at tlie very foundation of their fanaticism, and may be called the birth of "young Turkey." Sufficient time has not yet elapsed to manifest the effect of this great refoi-m, as it will require two generations to bring the new birth to an adult age, but it has struck at the spring of human action — education — and what the effect will be upon "young Turkey " at full age remains hidden in the history of the future. Mahomet II. was the great reformer in the old style of Turkish education, and he it was who classi- fied the efforts of some of his predecessors, and formed the "Chain of Ulemas," by which a sound education might be given not only to those who were to become the tutors of the public, but also to those who were to be their legislators. This remarkable man, who was the greatest soldier- statesman that the Ottoman EmiDire has produced — for Sultan Mahmoud, although equal to him in statesman- ship, was not a leader of annies — formed a number of elementary schools called Mektebs, scattered over his em- pire in every to^\^l and in almost every Mohammedan vil- lage ; but he saw that the rulers of his state should possess something more than an elementary education. His empire was no longer a great eastern camp with a military staff to govern it, but was in a transition state from a military to a civil life; it was necessary, therefore, to satisfy the nature of the case. To do this he made edu- cation his adjutant, and established and endov/ed nu- merous public schools or colleges of the higher order, which were called Medr esses, in distinction from the Mek- tebs or elementary schools. The Medresses went through ten regular courses of grammar, syntax, logic, metaphy- sics, philology, the science of tropes, the science of style, rhetoric, geometry, and astronomy. "^^ The taker of a degree in these subjects received the title of Danischmend — a Persian word, signifying "Gifted with Knowledge," and which is now replaced by the term Softa — which en- * Von Hammer. QO VERNMENT AND ADMINISTRA TIOK 151 titled Mm to the mastersliip of one of the minor public schools, but in that case he renounced the prospect of becoming a member of the Ulema, or of any of the higher educational appointments. For this, it was necessary to go through a still further course of study, and to pass several examinations. Incentives to w^ork were given in the honors and endowments which were confeiTed, some- what as in the case of our own fellowships and masterships at the universities. The Ulema supplied all the professors of the high schools, and were called 3fuderrls, and from the same order were chosen all the ministers of justice, including the Cadiaskers, the Mollahs, and the Cadis. The subor- dinate appointments were filled from what we at Cam- bridge should vulgarly call "Poll" degrees, and were given to the ecclesiastics of the State, so that we see that the actual priesthood of Turkey takes a very inferior posi- tion in the State. The ministers of public worship are called Imaums, who oificiate at public prayers, and Sheiks, or i)reachers. It must not be supposed that because the appointments to the priesthood were allotted to the holders of minor de- grees it marked on the part of the Turks any want of re- spect for their faith. Such an idea would be very errone- ous. It arose in consequence of the legal profession being so intimately connected with the church, expounders of the law of the Koran, that they in fact formed the senior branch of the hierarchy. Such was the celebrated "Chain of Ulemas" instituted by Mahomet II., a. d. 1451-81. But the strength of a chain is to be measured by its weakest part, which con- sisted in this case of the absence of any higher educa- tional establishments for the general public. The Chain of Ulemas provided a perfect education for the legal profession and the church, but there it stopped ; and after members of those professions had attained the goal of their examinations, their minds were narrowed by their duties being confined to poring over the Koran and 153 TURKEY IN EUROPE. tlie works of the caliphs, for the purpose of expounding the law. The expenses of this system of education were met by the revenues of the Yacouf, or church property of the State, obtained by the appropriation of land for that purpose on the conquest of the country. In 1846 a divorce took place between the Medresses and the Mektebs. The former were left under the control of the Sheik-ul-Islam at the head of the Ulemas, and the lat- ter were placed under the care of the State, and formed, after a time (1857), one of the ministerial departments of the empire. In 1869 an imperial iradeh promulgated an organic law of public instruction, which, in principle, divided the schools of the empire into two categories — 1, Public schools, which were placed exclusively under the control of the Government ; and, 2, Private schools, which are inspected by Government, but are founded by, and are under the management of, private individuals or companies. Under this category came the old Medresses. The details of the public schools and colleges, and their course of instruction, I transfer to Appendix E. It vrill be seen that the educational institutions of Tur- key are still far from complete, but that the organization is in theory most excellent. It is a herculean task when the complicated nature and the jealousies and religious animosities of the population are considered, and some credit is due for the advance which has ali-eady been made. I have spoken, in the chapter on Bulgaria, of the great and successful endeavors made by that nation for advance in education, and great complaints are made because the Porte will not give government grants to the Bulgarian schools ; but it answers that it has established general ele- mentary schools aU over the empire, and that it cannot be at a further cost because the Bulgarians do not choose to avail themselves of them. There is a certain amount of justice in this argument ; at the same time, the religious prejudices of the Chris- tians cannot be overlooked, and it is natural that in most G VERNMENT AND ADMINISTRA TION. 153 cases they sliould dread sending tlieir cliildren to Turkisli schools, where they may be perverted from the faith which the parents hold so dear. The difficulty might be met by a school capitation rate, administered by a school board, composed of representatives of all nationalities, and in most cases separate schools could be established for each nationality ; in fact, practically this is partially the case with both Greeks and Bulgarians, who each have their private schools; the compulsory education is only ex- tended to the Mussulman part of the population. The education in the Medresses of the Ulema is excel- lent, but requires to be supplemented by instruction in modern languages ; it is still the exception to find Turk- ish officials who can speak any language but their own. The exclusive education of the Ulema, like all exclu- sive education for any profession, tends to narrow the mind, and produce professional prejudices. Our own universities in Great Britain are models of educational institutions, and we there find all professions represented, and each provided with that branch of study it wishes to follow The social intercourse of men aiming at different sjjheres of action cannot but conduce to the general intelligence of the mass. The effect of this is even more marked upon the teachers than the taught, and the benefit to the former reacts lipon the latter to great advantage. Our universities are the source from which spring all the best masters of the higher schools through- out the kingdom, and the social as well as the learned education they obtain from their alma mater has a marked effect upon the youth of the country which are afterwards placed under their charge. This advantage would be lost if we had, like the Ulema, exclusive universities for law, etc. Our universities are a small world, and give, amongst other teachings, a knowledge of the world, or, in other words, of human nature, a very important element in the qualities necessary to govern. The abuses of Turkish government might be amelio- rated by the establishment of universities for the educa- 154 TURKEY IN EUROPE. tion of any Ottoman subjects who could pass a qualify- ing entrance examination, and if they were so organized as to afford a sound education in aU. those branches of learning which are connected with the public service, en- trance to any government apx)ointment might be made de- pendent upon the possession of a competitive degree at the university. This would give a fair chance to both Turks and Christians, and thereby faithfully carry out the law established by the Hatt-i-cherifs and Hatt-i-humayoun, and it would ensure a class of highly-educated govern- ment officials with a knowledge of the human nature they were api:>ointed to govern. The funds for building and endowing these universities could easily be provided by selling a part of the Vacouf lands of the empii-e. This completes my review of the government and ad- ministration in Turkey ; and I think my reader will acknowledge that the Turks have not been either idle or deficient in organizing an admirable framework of govern- ment, which, if it were honestly administered, would soon raise the nation to its proper rank in Europe. We have now to go back and consider the greatest event in Ottoman history, namely, the celebrated siege which enabled them to destroy one of the greatest empires, and to occupy one of the most beautiful cities of the world. CHAPTER IX. The Fall of the Byzantine Empire. Siege of Constantinople — Constantine Palaeologns and Mahomet II. — Death of the Greek Emperor— A monster Cannon — Fall of the Byzantine Empire. AS the Tnrkisli armies spread over Thrace, the forces of the Byzantine Empu^e retreated until they were confined to the narrow limits of the capital which had hitherto resisted the fierce attacks of the Ottomans. It was reserved to Mahomet II. to put the finishing touch to the TurMsh hold upon Europe. On the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus his grandfather had formerly built a powerful fortress, and Mahomet now deteimined to erect on the opposite and European side a more formidable castle, as a base of operations against the city. A thou- sand masons were commanded to assemble in the spring on the spot called Asomaton, about five miles from the Greek metropolis. It was the erection of this fortress that brought about a remonstrance from Constantine XI., the Greek Emperor, and afterwards a declaration of war on the part of Mahomet. By a curious coincidence, Constantine gave his name to the capital of the Roman Emi)ii'e, and a Constantine reigned at the time of its fall. Closing himself within the narrow limits of the walls of his capital, Constantine Pala3ologus, sumamed Bragases, watched anxiously the building of the fortress at Asoma- ton by Mahomet II. "The fortress rose with great rapidity, and was built in a triangular form, each angle being flanked by a strong and massive tower, one on the declivity of the hill, two along the sea-shore. A thick- 155 156 TURKEY m EUROPE. ness of twenty-two feet was assigned for the walls, thirty for the towers, and the whole building was covered with a Bolid platform of lead." * While Mahomet in person superintended the erection of this fortress, Constantine, alarmed at the extensive preparations he saw making, did his utmost by flattery and by gifts to ward off the blow which he felt was impending; but when he saw that remonstrances and concessions were in vain, and that the "die was cast," he determined, like a brave soldier, that the Mohammedans should not jpurchase their victory cheaply, and he cast down the gauntlet with the follomng words to the great Sultan : " Since neither oaths, nor treaty, nor submission can secure peace, pursue your impious warfare. My trust is in God alone, and if it should please Him to modify your heart I shall rejoice in the happy change. If He delivers the city into your hands I submit without a mur- mur to His holy will. But until the Judge of the Earth shall pronounce between us it is my duty to live and die in the defence of my people." Strange ! These were the words of Christians to Turks when the empire of the former trembled in the balance, and now, 325 years afterwards, in the year 1876, the empire again trembles in the balance, and the words of Turks to Christian Russia seem but the echo throwTi back from the year 1452. Mahomet II. was an illustrious tyrant. He was an extraordinary man. He was one of those sledge-hammers of human nature which are sometimes met with, and which produce the feeling on the mind that you are in the presence of stupendous force — ^physical as well as mental — overbearing and cruel, regardless of the feelings of others, which are crushed like twigs in his iron grasp, selfish and sensual, talented and clever, imjoervious to the true springs of noble action, yet emotional. A force which you feel, but it makes you shudder as you rec- ognize in it the link between man and demon. * Gibbon. SIEGE OF COjS'STANTINOPLE. 157 Such was Mahomet II. He was an adept in the art of war, and was indefatigable in his preparations for the coming siege, but they were accompanied by a nei'voiis excitement, which marked the extreme importance of the occasion, and his recognition of the power of the Byzan- tine Empire, which was arrayed against him. Frequent were the consultations with his Grand Vizier, his generals and engineers, and plans of the city, and the positions for all his batteries, were laid out with most scrupulous care. Everything was submitted to the criti- cism of his own eye, and nothing was to be left to chance. The recent introduction of cannon was to be the chief element in the siege, and a foundry was created at Adrianople to cast cannons which would throw a stone ball of 600 lbs. weight. All the aids of both ancient and modern warfare were enlisted for the siege, and men might be seen dragging huge cannon into position, while near them huge wooden towers, on rollers, crept slowly to the front, to be finally filled ■\%T.th troops and placed against the ditch, there to discharge their living freight, by means of ladders thrown from the tower-to]3, across the ditch, to meet the wall. The smoke of modem cannon was to cloak the instru- ments of ancient warfare. Not only was gunpowder to proiDel the missiles, but great engines for hurling stones, and battering-rams to beat doAvn the walls, were all mov- ing to theu' carefully-appointed places. Various are the accounts which are given of the formidable army of Turks, which, under their fierce Sultan, was to aid this grim machinery in its work of death ; but Gibbon arrives at 258,000 as the total Ottoman force, of which 60,000 cavahy and 20, 000 infantry were regular troops, and the remainder auxiliaries. Added to these was a naval force of 320 vessels, but with the excejDtion of 18 ships of war the remainder were small craft, used mostly for transport. Constantinople was defended on one side by the Golden Horn, on the other by the sea, and the third side of the 158 TURKEY IX EUROPE. triangle liad, and has, a great wall six rniles long, witli liigli flanking towers at very short interv^als. Opposite and parallel to tliis wall Mahomet cut a ditch to cover his attack. Fourteen batteries were distributed opposite the most feeble parts of the walls. The x)rlncipal point of attack was to be the great central gate of St. Romanus, Archers were to shower their arrows wherever the besieged should show themselves, and miners were brought from Servia for subterraneous works. Nothing was forgotten, and all the art and strength of the Ottoman monarch was concentrated for the effort. On the Christian side preparations for defence were not wanting, but there was an absence of unity of action. An emj)ire does not fall without a cause, and the intrigues, the dissensions, and the Jealousies which had driven the Greeks out of Thrace, and hemmed them into their forti- fied triangle, now shone out in all its force, and, like a will-' o-the- wisp, lured the empire to its final destruction. Conscious of his weakness, occasioned by the intrigues of his subjects, Constantine, eager to gain the aid of any re- inforcement, professed at the last moment the spiiitual obedience of the Greek to the Roman Church, but the false concession only produced bitterness and disappoint- ment, and the rancor excited against the Genoese forces was almost equal to the hatred of the Turk. It was a forlorn hope of policy, which fell back shat- tered and defeated ; for, instead of reinforcements from without, it only produced fresh dissensions within. The total number of inhabitants, including men, women, and children, did not exceed 100,000 persons, and of these all that could be counted upon for the defence of the cap- ital was 5,000 men, but to them were added a brave but small force of Latin volunteers, under the able leadership of John Criustiniani, a Genoese. The imminence of the danger at last roused the iDopula- tion to a sense of their critical position, and the unremit- ting exertions and ardor of the Emperor Constantine transmitted itself to the troops. Constantine distributed SIEGE OF CONSTAKTIXOPLE. 159 his small forces along the forts, and himself took the command of the outer wall. He exhorted his men and officers to emulate each other in the defence of all they held dear, and encouraged the timid with hopes of success and promises of reward. Such were his exertions at the last that he ins]Dired an enthusiasm which he would fain have felt himself, for in his own heart he knew that he must light and die. A strong chain was thrown across the Golden Horn, and all the ships which arrived at the port were detained for the service of the besieged. Of war ships he could count but fourteen. The Turkish preparations were at last complete, the trooj)S were in position, the batteries fixed, the soldiers were reminded of the glories of their ancestors, and prayers were offered to Heaven for success, and on the morning of the 6th of April, 1453, the signal was given, and the Ottoman cannon thundered at the gates of Chris- tendom. At first the Greeks, in their ardor for the fight, rushed down the ditch to meet the foe in the open field, but soon fell back exhausted by the advancing hosts. The battle raged fiercely along the line, but night came, and no im- pression was made upon the gallant defenders. Day after day was the fight renewed, but miorning came, and showed the city still confident and strong. At last food was getting scarce, and the horrors of a siege were sorely felt ; but soon the spirits of the Greeks were raised, as away on the Sea of Marmora they esiDied five gi'eat ships well laden with supplies, and which, by their colors flying, told that they were friends of those in need. On- ward they flew before the breeze, but what a sight now met them as they neared the port ! Three hundred Turk- ish ships were dra■v^^l across the straits, each filled with troops, and eager for the fight. The famished Christians, from the lofty towers, watched eagerly the approaching succor, and the hungry wish was father to the thought that the coming fight might win a kindly smile from Fortune. 160 TURKEY IN EUROPE. Tlie news flew quickly through the Turkish ranks that a naval combat was on foot, and soon the waters of the Bosx)horus seemed to break upon a beach of turbaned heads — one bare spot there was, as it were a bay, and in it the waves beat, as against a rock, upon the charger of the Sultan, who, riding breast high into the sea, came down to watch the unequal fight, not doubting but that these rash sailor Franks would soon be punished for their insolence. But there were brave hearts in those five gallant ships, full willing to meet the outnumbering enemy. Gaily they careened before the swelling breeze, their white sails whitening in the sun, and steering straight upon the Turkish line, bore down upon the foe. Truly it was a gallant sight, as all must feel, who, having witnessed the beauties of the Bosphorus, can picture the struggling ships, urged on by cries and yells from the anned con- tending hosts. Suddenly from the Christian ranks there burst a joyous shout as the Turkish ships first wavered and then fled. But above all shouts there arose the bit- ter taunt of the fierce Sultan, as, mad with rage, he, with threatening gestures, called on his naval captains to make good the fight. But the rent was made, and like chips of straw before the rushing wind, the Turkish craft were swept aside, and amidst ten thousand Christian cheers, the succoring ships sailed in victorious to the Golden Horn. Then many a mother's heart was joyous as she closely clasped her half -famished child. The days wore on, and fight succeeded fight, but still the Christian front was bold, and the Turkish hosts were bafiied. Then the warlike genius of the Sultan came to his aid, and pointed out the weak spot in the armor of his adver- saries. Could he but place his ships within the Golden Horn, the enemy's weakest point lay open to attack. But how to reach it ? The chain across the mouth could not be broken, and all else was land. No matter, it must be done, and done that very night. The small craft were SIEOE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 161 beaclied, tlie strongest men told off for each, and under the shadow of the night, for ten miles on a road of planks, over hill and over dale, in perfect silence, four- score heavy craft were dragged and launched ux)on the Golden Horn. The dawn brought a bitter surprise to the still gallant Greeks. And now Mahomet gathered his engineers, and the heavy cannon were seen moving to the water' s edge, where rafts were ready to receive them and form a floating battery. Such was the size of these monster guns, that seven shots a day was all they could be made to fire. Fifty-three weary days and nights had now passed, and hunger had so told upon the courage of the Greeks, that at sight of these floating batteries and preparations of the Turks they grew sick at heart, and they now clamored to the emperor to deliver up the city. But sternly the Chris- tian king refused, and bid them to their posts to fight, and if needs be to die. It was on the 29th of May that Mahomet saw his works complete ; and all was ready for the final rush of Islamism on Christendom. The great Byzantine Empire, once foremost in the pow- ers of the world, had shrunk within the narrow space before him, and he was now ready to crush it in his grasp. Tarin (to-morrow) Inshallah, the Christian dog shall die. Amidst the Turkish ranks the Sheiks and Imaums (ministers of religion) suggested hopes of Paradise to brave soldiers who might to-morrow meet a glorious death, and to those who might survive freely promised rewards and honors. Then, as the sun sunk slowly in the west, 200,000 Moslems bowed down their head to Mother Earth in one united prayer. All day the cannon had thundered against the opposing walls, and near the great gate of Saint Romanus a yawning breach was seen. Constantine knew that the storm was soon to burst, but mean jealou- sies were rife among the Christian ranks. The gallant Giustiniani, like a true soldier, did his duty, and placed 11 1(32 TURRET IN EUROPE. the brave Latins here and there, where points seemed weakest. The Emperor was everywhere exhorting to brave deeds, and enthusiasm seemed to follow in his path. AYhen all were placed, and orders given, then with some few chosen knights he retired to the great Chiirch of St. Sophia, He knew that his hour was at hand. He slowly entered the grand and sacred edifice, and there, nncovered, the last Byzantine Emperor, siirronnded by his knights, stood before the cross. To-morrow the Byzantine Empire wonld pass away with him ! His tears fell thickly at the thonght, and he knelt before the cross and prayed that he might die as it became a Christian knight ; then, for the last time, he partook of the sacred emblems of his Saviour, and, turning to those around, he said: "I pray forgive- ness if I have injured any one in thought or deed." Then, striding to the portal of the church, where stood his impatient steed, he placed his helmet on his noble head, and, mounting into the saddle, the humble Christian penitent rode off as warrior Christian king, to battle and to die. The sun had set, the evening past, and night fell on the attendant hosts. Christian knights, as they lay under the starry canopy of heaven, cast off the sterner half of man, and let their softer nature free, and loving thoughts of mothers, sisters, wives, went winging through the air to meet in last embrace. And now the solemn calm before the coming storm drew near, and all was hushed and still. Constantine did not sleep, but from a lofty tower watched in the stillness of the night over the Moslem host. At length, as dawn drew near, his quick soldier's ear caught the measured tread of Moslems marching bravely to their posts, and many to their graves, and he warned the Chris- tians to their battlements. Soon the stars grew pale, and the minutes of many a gallant life were ebbing fast away. Then suddenly, like a thunder-clap, burst out the stirring roar of war. The shouts of men, the clang of arms, the cannons' roar, the horses' neigh, the loud commands, all mingled in one exciting din as the Moslems rushed into SIEGE OF COKSTANTIIiOPLE. 163 tlie breacli by sea, by land ; along the whole line tlie fierce attack was made. Wave after wave of troops went for- ward to perish in the ditch, which was soon filled uj) and bridged by the bodies of the dead and dying. Wherever the Greeks grew faint there appeared the noble Christian king, and where the king was there the Greeks grew brave, for he was ever foremost in the fight. Two honrs passed of bloodshed, and still the Greeks and Latins bravely held their ground ; the Moslems paused, and victory seemed about to touch the hand of Christendom. Then, from behind the smoke and dust and swelling above the din of war, there came the sound of martial music, drums, fifes, and attaballs, growing louder, louder as it neared the great gate of St. Romanus. And from out the smoke there rode the Padishah, the fierce Seljukian Sultan, with royal kon mace in hand, and behind him, with calm and measured tread, there came 10,000 chosen Janizaries, and made straight for the great breach. Onward they came, and then, with one wild shout, *' Allahu Akbar," they rushed into the breach. Amidst the dust and smoke might be seen the Christian king the foremost in the fight, but no longer by his side stood Giustiniani, who, sorely wounded, had retired from the fight. Fierce was the struggle and furiously raged the fight. Here Turk grappled Christian in the death-s-truggie, and shouts and groans and loud commands rose upon the air. But still the Christians held their ground. Presently there came a sound at first in front, then swelling louder, louder, like a rushing gale from right to left, from front to rear, " Allahu Akbar, AUahu Akbar," rent the air. The brave Constantine heard and knew that all* was lost ; then turning to those around, "Can no man here be found to take away my Hfe," he mournfully exclaimed, but none stepped forth to fell the noble tree. "It is enough, O Lord, now take away my life, and he plunged into the 164 TURKEY IN EUROPE. fight ; and fought nntil some unknowii hand struck him to the heart, and as he sank among the heap of slain, another name was added to the obituary of heroes, and the crescent rose over the waters of the Bosphorus, and cast a shadow over the fairest land in Europe. Thus fell the Byzantine Empire, and well might the Emperor and his knights have said — ^o-" " Go, stranger, and in Lacedsemon tell That here obedient to her laws we fell." I pass over the miserable scenes of the sacking and pil- lage of the city, which now became the seat of the Otto- man Empire. The Sultan proceeded straight to the church of St. Sophia, and alighting, entered, surrounded by his viziers, his pashas, and his guards, and ordered one of the Imaums who accompanied him to summon the faithful and all true believers to prayer, and he then himself mounted the high altar, and the Moslem prayer went up to heaven from the same temple that had but yesterday heard the Christian prayer for victory. The body of the Emperor was sought, and the head cut off and exhibited for a time between the feet of the bronze horse of the equestrian statue of Justinian, in the place called the Augustan. It was subsequently embalmed and sent round the chief cities of Asia. I think that all Christians may feel proud of the hero who represented their faith at the fall of the Byzantine Empire. CHAPTER X. MILITARY OEGANIZATION. Military Organization — Turkiah Anarchy — The Divan — Abdul Medjid — Treaty of Paris — Turkish Loan — Insarrection in Servia — Historical Evidence of Russian Intrigue — Difficulties of Reform. nnHE introduction of artUlery into warfare, wMch took -L place during tlie reign of Mahomet II., marks a great ckange in tlie mode of distributing the population of the world, for vre now take leave of those great waves of con- quest which, guided by the military genius of an Alaric or an Attila, a Genghis Khan or a Timour, rolled over the earth from east to west, and formed new races in their track. Hitherto the conquering hosts had consisted of only two arms, cavalry and infantry. Their commissariat was worked by pack animals, and the huge army could move with rapidity over mountain and plain, through forest and marsh, and by changing their position daily like a swarm of locusts, they found sustenance for man and beast. But now the wheeled carriages of artillery were stopped by a trifling stream or marsh ; the guns could not be deserted, roads had to be made, the armies were delayed, the difficulties of feeding them became multiplied, and the swarming of human beings over an immense area has been checked until the land shall become covered by a network of easy roads of communication. It may be laid down as a military axiom that the numerical strength of national armies will increase directly as the facilities of communication. The conquest and occupation of Constantinople by the Turks marked a new era in their history. They were now 165 166 TURKEY IN EUROPE. in possession of a capital, and had to cliange their nomad into a sedentary nature. Hitherto the successors to the throne had been educated in the battle field or as governors of provinces, and their contact with the world and experience of men was an excellent training for the despotic power which was afterwards to be placed in theii' hands. The real prog- ress of a nation ruled by a despotic power strictly administered, must vary with the character and ability of the despot, and the degrees of justice, morality, learn- ing, industry, war, and vice, will be marked u]pon a scale which has been graduated by the disposition and aspi- rations of the reigning monarch. How much, therefore, must depend upon his education and associates. But we presently find that either through jealousy or fear, instead of the training of the campaign or govern- ment of provinces, the young minds of the heirs to the Ottoman throne are incubated within the shell of the seraglio, to be afterwards hatched as despotic monarchs over a vast multitude of human beings of various creeds, races, and rival interests. The consequence is, that no sooner does an inexperienced Sultan ascend the throne than he is subjected to the family influence of uneducated females, he is fastened upon by a host of corrupting para- sites, and unless he is a man of extraordinary natural character, the government is directed by avarice, injustice, and venality. The result is conspicuous as we turn over the pages of Ottoman history. After the possession of Constantinople we find the Sultans, and consequently the nation, gradually becoming more apathetic and corrupt. The old energy of the race, whilst yet it lingered, pushed up to the walls of Vienna, but it was only the expiiing flicker of conquest, and the future shows the empu^e grad- ually dwindling away. As the Sultans became apathetic by debauchery, the military despotism of the Janizaries dominated the will of the sovereign, and deluged the country with their arrogance and savage cruelty. The DOWNFALL OF THE JANIZARIES. 1G7 reins of government practically passed into tlieir liands, and presented the anomaly of a despotic monarchy ruled by a military despotism. Sultans were deposed and mur- dered by this savage soldiery almost as soon as they had ascended the throne, and it is curious to observe how with the power in their own hands the Janizaries still respected the family of Othman, and replaced monarch after monarch with his heirs. There seemed no thought of a republic and no individual ambition to ascend the throne. The high-minded family of Kiuprili in vain attempted to right the ship, but the storm of avarice and lust was too strong, and they fell before it, not, however, without leaving their mark for good upon the nation. Turkish anarchy soon attracted Russian cuj)idity, and from the reign of Peter the Great commenced that system of organized intrigue which is slowly, but surely, bringing Turkey to ruin. Periodical wars between the two countries witnessed periodical dismembennent of Turkish territory for the aggrandizement of that of Russia, and the intervals of peace have been occuj)ied by the subtle energy of secret societies placing every possible obstruction in the path of Turkish progress by agitating and comj)elling her subjects into rebellion. The era of Turkish anarchy commenced after the occu- pation of Constantinople, and lasted until the reign of Mahmoud II., a.d. 1808. This remarkable monarch saw that if Turkey was to ex- ist as a European nation her government must be moulded upon a European model, and although his country was distracted by rebellion and weakened by wars with Rus- sia, he boldly, and with all the energy of his ancient race, set about the work of reform. He knew that any step in the direction of good government was impossible so long as the Janizaries existed, and he therefore expunged them from the face of the earth. Although their number amounted to forty thousand, the severity of this stern retribution can hardly be called cruel, when the horrible 168 TURKEY IN EUROPE. deeds of tlie Janizaries are considered. It was but the execution of forty thousand murderers. The road was now partially cleared for reform, and among the beneficial measures that were passed by Sultan Mahmoud may be enumerated the following : The closing of the Courts of Confiscations, by which the property of all persons banished or condemned to death had previously reverted to the cro^\Ti. This had given rise to much government oppression, and its removal was a great boon to both the Christian and Mussulman population. The power of life and death was taken away from the governing pashas, and for the future capital punishment was not to be inflicted otherwise than by the sentence of an authorized court of law, with the right of appeal through the higher courts, until the appeal terminated with the Sultan himself. The administration of the " Yacoufs," or Church lands, was revised, and the revenues therefrom placed under the control of the State ; but the conscience of the govern- ment was not so sensitive on this point as to prevent the application of the revenue of the Church lands to the gen- eral purposes of the State. The Timars and Ziamets had formerly been instituted as military fiefs, for the purpose of furnishing an effective military force at the call of the State, but they had, from neglect and corruption, long ceased to act for any effective purpose ; they were, therefore, attached to the public do- mains, which added to the resources of the State, and put an end to a host of corruptions. A still more important reform was the suppression of the Derey Beys, or hereditary local chiefs, who had power to nominate their successors in default of male heirs. These Beys had made themselves petty princes in most of the provinces of the empire, and their arrogance and exac- tions had become intolerable. Some of these independent chiefs could muster as many as forty thousand men, but by the steady and firm perseverance of Sultan Mahmoud these insubordinate feudatories were suppressed. TUBKISH REFORMS. 1G9 By a firnian in 1834, the vexatious charges usually made by public functionaries wlien traveling, upon tlie inhab- itants of the country, were forbidden, and all collections of money, excei)t at the two half-yearly periods, were abolished. In this firman Sultan Mahmoud said: "No one is ignorant that I am bound to afford support to all my subjects against vexatious proceedings, to endeavor unceasingly to lighten instead of increasing their bur- dens, and to insure their peace and tranquillity ; therefore those acts of oppression are at once contrary to the will of Grod and to my imperial orders." The Sultan set the example of attending the Divan, and personally superintending the government of the coun- try.* But it was not only the reforms which were passed and made law which signalized his reign, but those which were studied, partially organized, and afterwards com- pleted by his successor, Abdul Medjid, who was only six- teen years of age when he came to the throne. At the suggestion of the Divan he at once pushed forward the reforms commenced by his father, and the famous Tanzi- mat for equality of rights between Christians and Mussul- mans, was commenced. The Hatt-i-humayoun, read at Gulkhaneh, near Con- stantinople, in presence of the Sultan, announced the termination of arbitrary exactions in the collection of taxes, equality of taxation in proportion to fortune, and of liability to the military service, publicity of criminal justice, and the termination of the confiscation of heirs for the crimes of their predecessors. This Hatt-i-humayoun of the 3rd of November, 1839, was considered of such sacred importance, that the text of it was deposited in the same hall as the sacred stand- ard of the prophet. A further ordinance was issued, declaring free the pro- fession of a baker, and the monopoly of the purchase of bread by the Zahire-Naziri, or surveyor-general of pro- *CreasY. 170 TURKEY m EUROPE. visions, was also abolislied, and from tliat moment all the abuses wMcli liad existed in tliat department disappeared. The bakers purchased bread wherever they chose, and the supply was abundant. Education was not neglected, and academies were es- tablished in Constantmople, Adrianople, Salonica, Smyr- na, Brousa, Bagdad, and Trebizond, where literature and the sciences were to be taught on the European method, and military and naval schools were established. It was impossible that a sudden refonnation could be forced upon the people without meeting with a strong op- position, especially where religious fanaticism formed a disturbing element ; but it is due to the Turkish Govern- ment to state that they met it with as much finnness as was possible, considering that the country was distracted by war and rebellion. The close of the Crimean War and the Treaty of Paris of 1856 seemed to mark a new era in the life of Turkey. Her efforts at reforms which were to fit her to become a member of the European family had been going on since the commencement of the century ; but they had been continually interrupted by rebellions fomented by her enemy Russia, and periodical wars with that power, each of which left Turkey in a weaker state than before. Her great enemy now lay prostrate before her, and supported by the Treaty of Paris, it seemed as though such a clear road was open to reform and good government, that the most sanguine hopes of improvement might be realized. But this very success was a principal cause of the deca- dence of Turkey, because it had exhausted her resources, and her revenue would no longer meet her heavy expendi- ture. She aimed at being one of the European families, and therefore adopted their customs, and began to borrow. In 1854 she contracted a loan of £3,000,000, in 1855 one of £5,000,000, and finding the sensation a pleasant one, she kept repeating it with Europe as the money-lender un- til the year 1874. The ease of obtaining money by foreign STOCK-JOBBING. 171 loans, and the freedom from tlie obligation of publisliing accounts of their expenditure, practically gave the Sultan an unlimited command of money for the Civil List. Slowly, but surely, this corrupted the head, and the corruption of the body of the State soon followed. The most wanton and unbridled extravagance reigned at the palace, and desire was bom from gratification until the inevitable crisis arrived, and no more money was forth- coming. But the corruption produced by the foreign loans found its way into every artery of the State, and poisoned the very existence of the country. The attractions of the bourse were so great, and the interest on loans so large, that merchants gave up trade and became stock-jobbers. Gambling on the stock ex- change became so fascinating that money which should have been employed in developing the country, was invested in the stocks, which, by iluctuations, ruined many a man, and passed his fortune into foreign hands. Trade languished, and speculation flourished. xVs it is to a private individual, so it is to a nation ; the borromng of money at exhorbitant interest is certain ruin. The pros- perity of Turkey is dependent upon the character of her Sultan. He need not be a genius, because he can find clever minds to advise him, but he must be honest, if the country is to prosper. Eapid reform and general corruj)- tion are so antagonistic that their presence at the same time must inevitably create confusion ; and this was the legacy left to Turkey at the death of the Crimean War and the birth of foreign loans. But the promulgation of reforms still went on, and the famous Hatt-i-cherif of 1856 appeared as a pendant to the Hatt-i-humayoun of Gulk- haneh of 1839. Religious toleration, equality of Chi'is- tians and Mohammedans, and their social intercourse in education, the correction of all abuses, the formation of roads and canals, all were to be carried out in one sweep, lilve a change of scene at the play — and, as might be ex- pected, the play became a burlesque. Hitherto Turkey had been honest in her intentions of reform, and the 172 TURKEY IN EUROPE. reigns of Sultan Malimoud, and the early part of that of Abdul Medjid, had only been faulty in attempting too much ; but the effort had been persevering and staunch. But now new loans could only be obtained by promises which it was impossible to fulfill ; and the promises were made, repeated, and added to, without any intention of carrying them out. Some idea may be formed of what became of the loans when, as early as 1858, the debt in- curred on the Civil List in less tlian six months, amounted to the sum of £3,000,000 sterling. It was only natural that a discontented population should be the result ; and we shortly find signs of rebellion springing up in almost every part of the country. Increased liabilities begat increased taxation, which begat discontent, which begat rebellion. The Mohammedans attributed their hardships to the introduction of Christian customs, the Christians to the misgovernment of their Mohammedan rulers," and thus fanaticism grew and fiourished. But it must be remembered that all this time Russia was not an idle spectator of the troubles of Turkey. Her agents were everywhere, and ready to excite fanaticism where it slumbered, and foment rebellion where the ground appeared favorable. I do not constantly return to these charges against Russia from any fanatical hatred of that country, but simply from indig-nation at the under- hand and unmanly acts which the history of modern times proves her to have committed. There has never been a rebellion in Turkey in modern times without the presence of Russian agents. In a mixed population, such as that of Turkey, it is impossible to prevent rival interests, and where they exist, it is not difficult to foment them into rebellion. This is the process which has been going on for the last century, and it is hard for her to kick against the pricks. It is customary in Europe to look upon all insurrections of Turkish Christians as the bursting of the flood-gates of pent-up fury, produced by the tyranny of their Mohammedan rulers. But there is another side to the question. ■\Yhat, for instance, says Consul Long- B USSIAN INTRIG UE. I73 worth — whose judgment no one can donbt — of the Greek rebellion in Crete in 1858. " I have stated that the Pasha behaved with extraordinary liberality toward the ortho- dox Greeks. This was undoubtedly the case, yet he has latterly been accused of persecuting them. The truth was that he began by humoring them too much, and this made them unreasonable. Church building, on which there were former restrictions, is now a sort of mania with them, and in this way they were indulged to the utmost extent. They were allowed churches in any number, of all sizes, and in all places. They were, even when they would not pay for this extravagance, gratified at his expense ; he gave them both ground and money. "Then, agreeably to the Hatt-i-humayoun, Turks were permitted to turn Christians, and (what did not please them quite so much) Christians Turks. Even whole com- munities, who, to escape persecution, had formerly pro- fessed Islamism, were allowed openly to embrace Christi- anity, but still they were not satisfied. These people, who were always talking of Turkish fanaticism, now sought to trample on it with a still fiercer fanaticism of their own. Not content with fair proselytism they resorted to the most scandalous means of making converts. "Turkish girls were seduced from their families ; plans of abduction were deliberately formed, and even a society of young men (among whom were some Ionian subjects* whose names have been mentioned to me) got up for the express purpose of carrying off these girls from their vil- lages. Two of these cases occurring at a short interval caused great scandal and excitement, and Vely Pasha deemed it time to put a stop to such proceedings. Acting, however, as usual upon impulse, the steps he took were hasty and inconsiderate Another still more remarkable feature of the business is that after the Greeks had everywhere risen, and the Turks had begun to commit excesses, destroying their olive-trees and vineyards, the fonner still continued to stand on the defensive, and ap- * It must be borne in mind that Russia was working through Greece. 174 TURKEY IN EUROPE. parently waiting for tJie interference or co-operation of other parties ; certainly it was not tlie bearing of people who had been goaded to rebellion by the intolerable op- pression of their rulers." A rising in Servia was shortly added to the other troubles with which the Porte was distracted, and it seemed as though mines of insurrection were sprung by some un- known hand. In a letter from Sir Henry Bulwer, our ambassador at Constantinople in 1860, to Lord J. Russell, he says : "It appears evident that a plan of agitation for exciting the animosity of the rival creeds and races the one against the other is now being actively carried out in Turkey." The effect of this may be inferred from a passage from another of his letters in the same year: "The work, nevertheless, which this Government (Turkey) had upon its hands was by no means easy of execution, for insur- rection among the Rayah population was not more to be feared than the rising among the dissatisfied Mussulmans ; and, indeed, a plot which was detected in the summer of last year, and at the head of which was a general of some distinction, bore evidence to the fact that if the dominant party or the Porte has not been able to do all that might justly satisfy the Rayah demands, it has done enough to provoke a large portion of the Rayah's ancient masters — a consideration which should not, most decidedly, check aU reasonable efforts toward progress in the same direction, but which should put some limit upon rash counsels and extravagant expectations." That the Porte was earnest and successful in reform may be inferred from another passage from a letter from Sir Henry Bulwer in this year: "Great changes for the better have of late years taken place in this country. These changes are as rapid and as general as could, under the ckcumstances, and within the time which has elapsed since their commencement, have taken place. But they leave an immense space of reform yet to be traversed. The position of the Christian population is considerably PR0ORES3. 175 improved, and may be yet by a few simple and not very difficult measures much advanced. But I fear any exten- sive change must be gradual in its progress, and as it has always to be remembered that the Mussulman class is, generally speaking, the upper and proprietary class, so we are not to consider all the oppression which takes i)lace in the provinces as oppression against the Christians, but often as oppression against the lower class of the popula- tion, both Mussulman and Christian." Again, "Whether the Turks have done a great deal or very little depends upon the point of view from which we look at the subject. If we compare Turkey as she is with what she was twenty-iive or thirty years ago, the change is marvelous." "Men who lived at the former period tell me every day that they can hardly credit the state of things they see now, when they remember what existed in the days of their youth." Lord Palmerston, in 1856, said that "in the last thirty years Turkey has made greater progress than any nation in Europe." It must, however, be confessed that there was a very large field for reform, but still the extent of the abuses should claim a proportionate amount of credit for their suppression, since the difficulties of reform lie in a direct ratio to the extent of abuses. Some idea of the difficulties which the Porte was labor- ing under at this period may be derived from another re- mark of Sir Henry Bulwer's : "The Mussulmans in the provinces, indeed, when of the inferior classes, suffer per- haps even still more than the Christians from the effects of the bad government that maintains there, for the latter are usually in some degree protected by the foreign authorities, whereas the latter have no protector. The persecutions of the different sects of Christians, moreover, are not unfrequently caused by their several animosities, and the manner in which the one excites the local author- ities against the other. Protestants, Catholics, Greeks, are usually involved in rival quarrels, and the Turk, who 176 TURKEY IN EUROPE. receives their several complaints, is urged to espouse the cause of the one or the other by the momentary influence of the consul or consul-general who is most in vogue." The foregoing remarks apply with especial force to the religious combat which took place between the Greek and Bulgarian Churches ; and a great part of the persecution to which the Bulgarians have been subjected has eman- ated, not from the Mohammedan rulers, but from the Greek Christians. Negotiations were carried on in 1860 between the Porte and the foreign representatives for the extension and re- vision of the Treaty of Commerce of 1838, and the follow- ing remarks give a general idea of the system of trade in the country : — " In former times trade was carried on in a perfectly different manner from at present, and foreigners occupied in this country a perfectly different position. A few merchants settled in the principal i)orts received goods in the wholesale, and either sold them to some native mer- chant, who resold them in detail, or sent some agent with them through the country who sold or hawked them. "As to the trades and professions, they were in the hands of Turkish corporations, and the foreigner could not enter into them, nor did he compete in detail trade with the native. The consequence of this was that goods might be taxed at any price after their entry, and the internal traffic of the country was not open to foreigners. The treaty of 1838 made a general change in these particu- lars. N'o further charge was to be placed on goods than the general import and export dues, and British subjects were to be placed on the same footing as native ones with respect to trade and traffic in the interior. The natural con- sequences have followed, corporations have disappeared, or nearly so, foreigners everywhere exercise retail trade, and the goods which have paid the import duty are never charged with any other." Sir Henry Bulwer held, "that both for the sake of the Turks and for our sake, we should still foUow out without chicane on one side or allowing chicane on the other, the system we had in 1838 in view," DIFFICULTIES OF REFORM. I77 and in tliis view he was joined by the representatives of Austria, France, Spain, the United States, and Sardinia, but the minister of Russia, and at first the minister of Prussia, took opposite directions. Our ambassador then says : "As to Russia, it is clear that if she could establish the principle that Russians are to have all the privileges of Turkish subjects, and pay none of the imposts, she has only to encourage still further the system of adopting Turkish subjects as Russians, and every Turkish subject loould have the strongest interest to hecome a Russian one. "It is, moreover, clear that if the hands of the Turks are thus fettered, and the possibility of their systematiz- ing theu' finances or obtaining a revenue prevented, all chance as to their reorganization is over ; and I cannot help thinking it was the intention of the Russian minister to make a bold dash at this on the present opportunity, and that without the fair and full discussion we had together, he might have succeeded. The language of Ali Pasha was admirable throughout, fair, firm, and concilia- tory." The fanatical spirit of the Turks was not calmed at this period by the appearance of numerous Turkish soldiers without their ears and noses, who had been victims to Montenegrin barbarity. If there is one man in Turkey whose opinion is valuable and to be depended upon, it is that of Consul-General Longwol-th, for he possesses the rare quality of a long residence in the country, great ability, and yet he is not a partisan. I therefore give my reader the benefit of his very interesting account of an interview with the Grand Vizier of Turkey, at Widdin, in 1860 :— Consul-General Longworth to Sir H. Bulwer, (Extract.) Belgrade, July 14, 1860. I HAVE found means of communicating with the Grand Vizier, at Widdin ; and, while eliciting from him such facts and opinions as he was disposed to impart with respect to the results of his in- 13 178 TURKEY ly EUROPE. quiry, aud offering, in return, such suggestions as were dictated by my knowledge and observation of the places he has still to visit, I have been particularly careful to avoid all semblance of undue interference with his proceedings. The candor and unreserve with which his Highness entered into these subjects, I, in some measure, attribute to our intimacy at a former period, though many years had elapsed since our last meeting. "With reference to this mission, which had been already fulfilled in the Bulgarian Pashalics of Varna, Shumla, Eutschuk, and Wid- din, he assured me he had met with nothing to warrant the charge of religious persecution. Not a single case of oppression expe- rienced by Christians at the hands of Turks had been brought to his cognizance. His satisfaction at this result was, in some measure, troubled by the annoyance he felt at having been sent on an errand so futile to the provinces, at a time when he might have been profitably emploj^ed in the capital. At Widdin, however, a petition had been presented to him sub- scribed with 300 signatures, and containing vague charges against the local authorities. This document he did not hesitate to characterize as spurious. Cases of outrage and cruelty, and of forced conversion to Islamism, could with no color of probability be sustained in Bulgaria, nor could any amount of subornation and suggestion enlist witnesses in support of them on the spot. The rest of the gi'ievances enumerated could scarcely be viewed as serious. 1st. With reference to the refusal of the local authorities to allow the Christians to put up a church-bell, it may be remarked that this use of bells in the East has always been considered as tantamount to a recognition of Christianity being the established worship of the place. In some towns, therefore, inhabited almost exclusively by Christians, this concession has been made by the Government. But at "Widdin, where more than three-fourths of the inhabitants are Turks, it would have involved an insult to their prejudices and a dangerous experiment on their forbearance. At a former period the Christians would not have dreamed of put- ting forward such a pretension ; and it must be admitted that in all other respects there is no restriction on religious ceremonies, and not even on public processions. 2nd. It is stated in the petition that the Cadi, or Mussulman DIFFICULTIES OF REFORM. 179 Judge, had arbitrarily interfered with the affairs of tlic Cliristian community ; that is, in questions of inheritance and the adminis- tration of the property of minors. Proof of such interference, however, tliough challenged and earnestly sought by the Grand Vizier, was wholly wanting ; wanting at least at Widdin, though there may have been interference in other parts of the empire. Indeed, I remember to have heard something of the kind com- plained of in Crete ; and on this foundation, and no other probably, rests the charge in the Widdin petition. Nothing can more clearly illustrate the looseness of these charges in general. 3rd. It is represented that the Christians admitted as members into the Med j lis, or Municipal Council, were allowed no voice in its proceedings, and had, in fact, been silenced by the Pasha. This charge was fully investigated by the Grand Vizier, and proved to be unsupported by a shadow even of evidence. It was, moreover, denied most positively by the bishop, who has himself a seat in the Medjlis. If the petitioners had been satisfied with affirming that the Christian members exercised little influence or authority in the Medjlis, the complaint would have been more plausible ; though as regards Widdi)i, I am told it would, even when thus qualified, have been inapplicable. My own experience, however, leads me to infer that in many places, and I should say the majority of them, it were vain to look for independence of character in the Christian members of these councils, not more from the domineering spirit of the Turks than their own disposi- tion, which is crouching and corrupt ; corruption and falsehood, indeed, are the chronic infirmities, though in a different degree, of the generation both Cliristian and Moslem. Time and educa- tion alone can effect a change for the better. The Government may, by its Edicts and Hatt-i-humayouns, hasten and advance such a reform ; but I question very much whether more evil than good will not arise from proclaiming a social equality which is, in the present state of things and relations of society, morally impossible. Equality before the law is that which must be first established ; the only sort of equality, in fact, which can, under existing cir- cumstances, be realized. And in connection with this, we come to the complaint in the petition — the only tangible point in it — relative to the rejection of Christian evidence in the Ottoman tribunals. In this respect, it cannot be denied there is room for amendment, not only at Widdin, but in every province of tho 180 TURKEY IN EUROPE. empire. A futile regulation has been enacted by wliicli such evi- dence is admitted in an inferior police court, but excluded from the higher or Municipal Council, while the sentence passed in that where witnesses are heard has to be confirmed in the other where they are not. All this has the appearance of evasion — one of those half-measures which give satisfaction to nobody. Nor is this all : a distinction is drawn in the Hatt-i-humayoun itself be- tween civil and criminal suits, Christian evidence being held to be admissable in the latter, but not in the former. The plea upon which it is defended is, however, specious enough : it is urged that the property of the Turks, particularly in districts where they are in a great relative minority, would be exposed to confis- cation if, in the existing demoralized state of society. Christian testimony were taken in cases of this kind. But it may, on the other hand, be rejoined that much of this demoralization, as regards the indifference shown to perjury, both by Turks and Christians, may be traced to the lax and vicious principle acted upon in the Mussulman Courts, where as the only means of secur- ing justice to Christians, Mussulman false witnesses are permitted to give evidence on their behalf. The abolition of this practice would do more than anything else to purify these tribunals ; but this can only be effectually accomplished by the admission of Christian evidence, instead of Mussulman perjury, as a matter of legal necessity. The "Ulema," or the law authorities of Turkey, will have eventually either to do this, or to renounce the adjudica- tion, together with the emoluments arising therefrom, of all civil suits. Were the alternative resolutely put to them by the Porte, there can be but little doubt what their decision would be. In the meanwhile, this is unquestionably the chief obstacle to any amelioration in the matter. There is another abuse which calls urgently for correction. I mean the forcible abduction of Christian girls by Mohammedans. It is not alluded to in the Widdin petition, and, indeed, is a crime by no means common in Bulgaria, nor, as I believe, in any other province, except Northern Albania. Still it is one which should not be neglected by the Porte, for it is that, and that only, which has furnished the ground for the most serious of the charges ad- vanced — that is, the forced conversion of Christians to Islamism. Much has been said in extenuation of this practice of abduction. It is an old custom of these wild districts, and was formerly held DIFFICULTIES OF REFORM. 181 to ennce manly spirit on the part of tlie ravislier. It is asserted also, and I believe it, that the girls are frequently consenting par- ties to their own abduction, and that the parents, by delaying to give them in marriage, with a view of appropriating their services as long as possible, indirectly bring this misfortune on themselves. But these palliatives, and others of the kind, which may be urged, are, I think, beside the question, which is simply if seduction and violence has been employed in removing these girls from the roof and protection of their parents. But instead of putting it to this issue, it has been the rule to force the party to appear before the tribunal which rejects Christian evidence, and to dispose of the affair summarily, by compelling her to declare herself a Chris- tian or a Mohammedan. Against this mode of procedure I deemed it my duty to make a determined stand, more than six years ago, at Mouastir. I in- sisted on all such cases being treated as police matters and not questions of religion, which, I maintained, was outraged by being made a cloak for such disorders. I appealed also to firmans and vizirial letters, in which force, as a means of proselytism, was strictly forbidden. I finally obtained my point, and the best re- sults followed. In all such cases, which rapidly diminished in number, the girls were forthwith restored to their families, and their ravishers punished as they deserved. These proceedings ■were duly reported to Constantinople, but there a different view seems to have prevailed on the question, which it flattered the fanaticism of all parties, and of Greeks as well as Turks, to invest, as before, with a religious character. Various expedients were devised, and, among others, that of sequestering the victim of abduction for three days in the residence of the Bishop previous to her profession in the faith in the Medjlis. But this way of proceeding, after occasioning much scandal and recrimination, has been definitively abandoned. The ques- tion, however, should be set at rest ; and the Porte herself seeing the imputations it exposes her to, is chiefly interested in not leav- ing it open any longer. The most practical solution is, in my opinion, that above suggested. It was gratifying, therefore, to find that the Grand Vizier took the same view of the matter ; and what is more, he promised me he would do his best to enforce it. His Highness, moreover, agreed in the opinion I expressed that this and the question of 182 TURKEY IN EUROPE. Christian evidence are the two main points to which, as sources of bitter feeling and discussion, the attention of the Porte should now be directed. As to eradicating, by any summary process, mere religions antipathies, which were mutual between the Turks and Christiaus, the only difference being that the Turks, a,s mas- ters, had been under greater temptation to display them, the task was, he said, hopeless ; all that could be done was to deal with their effects in the shape of overt acts. It was, at the same time, a great mistake to suppose that the oppression complained of had been systematic or uniform. The contrary, indeed, was the case. The result of the Ottoman conquest had been to establish the supremacy of one people over another while the government had, from the democratic tendencies of Islamism, been much more popular in its essence than was generally imagined. It was a fact which did honor to the Turks, that living in juxtaposition with conquered races, they had discovered a degree of toleration and forbearance to which, considering they were uncontrolled, his- tory could not furnish a parallel. Their hand, it is true, had been heavier on the Christians in some parts of the empire than it had been in others, and this when a rude, popular authority was exer- cised, was to have been expected as the natural consequence of different circumstances in different provinces. In Bulgaria and on the Danube, where the Turks garrisoned the fortresses, and occupied in force the considerable towns, the pressure on the Rayahs might have been greater in their immediate neighborhood ; but they were comparatively unmolested in the distant villages of the plains and the Balkans. In Albania the instincts of race are stronger than the prejudices of religion ; and it was remarkable that though Christians of a race, in their estimation, inferior, such as the Bulgarians, who live among them, are treated with harsh- ness and contumely, Christians of the Albanian blood are allowed to wear their arms, and are independent almost as themselves. The province in which Christians have had most reason to com- plain was Bosnia. The question is, there, one of noble and serf, of a privileged and unprivileged class, precisely analogous to that which now occupies the Eussian Government ; but in Bosnia the question of privilege was complicated by religious considerations, the nobles having at a former period embraced ]\Iohammedanism to preserve their estates, which were thus conditionally assured to them. Each of the other provinces had passed through its pecu- DIFFICULTIES OF REFORM. 183 liar ordeal, and a separate inqiiiry into the past and present con- dition of each would tend entirely to disprove the charge of sys- tematic oppression. It was, in truth, the absence of anything like system or uniformity that rendered it difficult for the Porte to adopt any general regime for the amelioration of the condition of the Christians. I give the above remarks as the substance rather of my conver- sation with the Grand Vizier than a distinct recapitulation of what was said on either side, which, as our views were almost identical, is the less necessary ; but with reference to the last ob- servation, I ventured to submit to his Highness whether it might not have been better, under the circumstances he had described, to regulate and adopt, more than had been yet attempted, the administration of the provinces to the different degrees of civiliz- ation developed in each. In Koumelia, where I had resided, and in other Pashalics which I had visited, I had acquired the convic- tion that the double government of the Pasha and the Medjlis worked badly ; local influences, averse to Christian interests, pre- vailed in those councils, nor was the matter mended much by the admission of Christian members, who were for the most part timid and corrupt. The best j)rotectors of the Christians were the functionaries, who, deriving their authority immediately from the Porte, are more likely, if duly invested with power and re- sponsibility, to be inspired by the liberal sentiments which the Porte professes toward the Christians under her rule. The Pasha might seek for information and advice from his Medjlis, but should not be controlled by it. In referring to the general subject of Ottoman administration, fiscal, military, and judicial, I kept carefully within the bounds of friendly counsel and criticism, which have been repeatedly en- joined by your Excellency, and his Highness on that account per- haps spoke with less reserve. Though claiming credit for Avhat had been done by the Sultan's Government, he acknowledged that he had found much to grieve and disappoint him, and among other things he thought that sufficient vigor had not been exerted in the repression of brigandage. In the severity he had himself displayed in the punishment of offenders, he had admitted no distinction between Christians and Mussulmans ; examples had also been made which he trusted would not be without their effect on another sort of brigandage — the official delinquency by which 184 TURRET IN EUROPE. lie allowed tliat tlie administration, both civil and military, was still by far too much tainted ; but where, in the backward state of morals and of education, can you find abetter class of function- aries ? A series of questions relative to Turkish administration has been lately addressed by your Excellency to Her Majesty's Consu- lar Body. The attention I have given to them will, I trust, be sufficiently apparent from the tenor of this report. None of these has impressed me as being more significant and suggestive in their import than that accompanied by the caution not to adopt an im- possible standard of comparison. The least exceptionable, per- haps, must be sought, certainly not in the particular constitu- tional form with which we may be most conversant, but rather in Asiatic Governments, or in that of Eussia, or in such of the European as are least advanced or most retrograde. Comparison even with these might not be altogether satisfactory, and, if I am not deceived, the only true measure of the merits of a govern- ment is the social and moral develoj^ment of the people ruled by it. No administration, be it liberal or despotic, Mohammedan or Christian, ought to be far behind or can be much in advance of this condition. This is a test, the application of which to her- self the Porte might accejDt with confidence. And the other crite- rion of progress proposed by your Excellency, that of time, or the Turkey of to-day compared with the Turkey of a given num- ber of years ago, is one which I doubt not would be still more favorable to her. This was a standard which in my conversation with the Grand Vizier naturally occurred to both of us. Almost a quarter of a century, including the most eventful years of Turkish history, had elapsed since we had last seen or conversed with each other. I had known him in early life, at the commencement of his career, when his fortunes, like those of most Turkish subaltern officers, consisted of little else than hopes and aspirations, which, if I deemed them extravagant, were, to do him justice, honorable and patriotic. Our acquaintance was now renewed, when he had out- grown even those aspirations, and in summing up the progress and all that had been accomplished during that interval, and in which he had, with no common zeal, energy, and singleness of purpose, borne his part, it was feelingly and with honest pride that he appealed to me, as to one resident in the country, and not igno- DIFFICULTIES OF REFORM. 185 rant of its affairs, whether the result was not such as they could fairly boast of. "You are doubtless aware," he said, "that our revenue, which thirty years ago was not £4,000,000, now amounts to £11,000,000 sterling ; that our commerce and agriculture have made com- mensurate strides ; that the population of the empire, and par- ticularly the Christian part of it, has been much and rapidly augmented. Is such a fact consistent with the oppression they are still said to be groaning under ? " In support of his assertions with respect to the increase of trade, his Highness entered into some interesting particulars connected with the exportation of silk, as estimated by the customs returns ; and he finally adverted to the progress made in their military or- ganization, which, though still deficient in many respects, yet if compared with what it was twenty years ago, must be by any competent judge admitted to be extraordinary. The Porte, he said, was most deeply interested in keeping up the numerical strength and efficiency of her army, not only as a security against foreign aggression, but as a preservative against anarchy in the provinces. To put down this, and assist in the great and neces- sary work of centralization, a powerful army was more than ever indispensable. " In respect, however to the extent to which anarchy still pre- vails, you must confess," he said, "that we have again reason to congratulate ourselves. You can remember the time when we were emerging from a far more chaotic state of things ; when, to instance only our European provinces, they were, with some soli- tary exceptions, all of them in arms against each other, or against the authority of the sovereign, whom the Pashas of Epirus, Widdin, and Eustchuk, and the Servians, Bosnians, and Alba- nians, held equally at defiance. But order is now the rule, and anarchy the exception. Give us but fair play, and doubt not we can defend our rights and regenerate our empire." The year 1861 saw the death of Snltan Abdul Medjid, after a reign of nearly twenty-two years. He had per- sistently endeavored to carry out the reforms of his predecessor, and had shown remarkable tact and firmness in steering through the troubles with which he was sur- rounded ; but the latter part of his reign showed that the 186 TURKEY IN EUROPE. demoralizing effect of the repeated loans was neutralizing all that was done in the way of reform, and rotting the foundations of the State. The expenditure on the Civil List became exorbitant, and the immense marble royal palace at Dolma-Baghtcheh became a landmark of ex- travagance. He was succeeded by his brother, Abdul Aziz, under whose reign Turkey was to sink into corruption. Great were the hopes entertained of the new Sultan ; and it was declared that under his able reign Turkey was to be regenerated. Upon the confidence created by his de- clared reforming tendencies, a new loan was obtained for £8,000,000 sterling. It soon became apparent that the new Sultan was under the influence of his mother, the Yalideh Sultana, and she gradually rose to be the principal means of obtaining ofiice. Whatever appointment was wanted or whatever trans- action was to be carried through, the approach was al- ways made through the Yalideh Sultana ; and if sufficient backshish was forthcoming, the point was gained. The form of corruption increased to such an extent, that in the latter part of the Sultan's reign, the VaUs, or governor-generals of the vilaiets, were sometimes changed every month. The Yalideh Sultana contrived to keep them shifting round in their places like the buckets in a water- wheel ; and as they successively poured their treasure into her lap, she found it so profitable that she gave an impetus to the velocity of the wheel. This was an expensive process for the governor-generals, and so they recouped themselves from their districts. In fact, the government of the provinces became a miserable farce. If A wanted to get a firman to start a manufactory, or B a concession to work a mine, or C was in difficulties with a complicated law case, they scraped up as much money as they could collect, and were off to Constantinople to *'get" (to use a vulgar phrase) at the Yalideh Sultana; and there they would remain for months, driving their bargain. DIFFICULTIES OF REFORM. 187 Of course the negotiations were carried on with great art, and the "backshish" had to pass through and cling to many hands before it reached the old lady. The moment a Turkish sultan ascends the throne, the discovery is made that he is endowed with extraordinary administrative talents, and the most sanguine hopes are raised for reform and good government. This is, prob- ably, because the wish is father to the thought ; but it is, unfortunately, but too often disappointed. The deposition followed by the suicide of Sultan Abdul Aziz placed his brother Sultan Mourad on the throne on May 30, 1876 ; but, notwithstanding the flowing reports of his abilities, it was soon found that he was little better than an imbecile, and he was wisely deiDOsed in favor of Sultan Hamed, who has certainly sho-\vn an anxiety for reform, and some energy ; and considering the very diffi- cult crisis in which he finds his country, it seems only fair play that he should have time to show whether he is capable of cariying out his promises. But whatever his ability or energy may be, there is not much hope of suc- cess so long as the foreign machinery for hatching rebel- lions is allowed to have full play. Agitation is lil^e froth — it can always be produced by sufficient friction, and under any circumstances ; charges of misgovernment could always be worked up against Turkey or any other country. If foreigners were to read and believe the accounts of some of the gatherings and speeches at the Hyde Park meetings, they would think that the English Government was one of the most tyran- nical in Europe. How easy, therefore, must it be to get up a " case " against Turkey ! but how cautious we ought to be in believing all we hear ! Every robbery and every murder that occurs in Turkey is immediately seized upon and bruited about to the discredit of the Government. "What false impressions might be given by a florid color- ing to six months of our police reports in England ! or supposing the accounts of the "casual ward," which ap- peared in the Pall Mall Gazette a few years ago, were 188 TURRET IN EUROPE. now recounted as happening in Turkey, what a storm of indignation would be raised, and what strong language would be used against that country ! I do not for a moment pretend that Turkish adminis- tration is all that can be desired — I think I have shown that it is very far fi^om it, — ^but it is certainly not anything like as bad as it is usually painted. In forming our judgment on the Government of Turkey we ought to take into consideration the very great diffi- culties with which it has to contend, and we ought in justice to give credit for work done, and not expect Turkish reform to keep pace with English imagination. In supiDort of what I have said as to actual progress made, I will quote from another report from Consul-General Longworth, made in 1867 : — ""Whatever the distance left between the promises of the Hatt-i-humayoun and the Porte' s perf onnances, any- body who faiiiy and soberly takes into account all it has to contend with, must feel far less surprise at its short- comings than at what has been actually done by it." In Turkey the great varieties of race render a govern- ment possible in one place which might be impossible in another, and the Porte has to take into consideration the religious and other prejudices of the people. Just, for instance, as we allow volunteers in England and Scotland, but not in Ireland. In explaining how this may be misrepresented, Consul- General Longworth says : — *' But the hand which had been so long heavy on the Christians of Macedonia and Upper Albania, and more particularly in the districts of Prilip, Kiuprili, Volo, Uscub, etc., has, however reluctantly, been relaxed. The improvement in their condition during the nine years I was Consul at Monastir was certainly, whatever it may have been since, undeniable. The area, more- over, on which intolerance was thus in its worst features dis- played, was never at any time extensive, and even at present the treatment of the Christians in these parts would, if accurately depicted to the House of Commons, afford, I am convinced, a DIFFICULTIES OF ItEFOItM. 189 most inadequate and unjust idea of the general treatment of the Christians in Turkey. " But in parts of the country where the authority of the Cen- tral Government is better established, the experience I speak from I can trust as a voucher of progress to be better relied upon, and the fact of my having visited and revisited such places at long intervals may have served to render this more striking. When first I became acquainted with Turkey, which was more than thirty years ago, I could never have expected to see social equality realized to the extent it has now been, and that in so short a j)eriod. Ten years later the Eayah had begun to take his seat in the Medjlis, but his abject spirit and obsequious dependent habits, quite as much as his want of experience in affairs, made him unfit for such functions ; he usually sat crouched in a corner, and gave a silent vote on all occasions. As years went by his position im- proved ; what the Christians wanted in rank and dignity, they made up for by wealth and intelligence. They now claim equal representation, and, in some places, even a majority of votes in the Mixed Assemblies. "In those of Eustchuk and Widdin, when I visited those places in 1865, I was surprised to see the independent Burgesses (Tchor- badjees) in European costume, fairly educated, and freely dis- cussing the interests of the community with the Pasha and other administrative and legal authorities. Such changes, it may be supposed, could not have been effected in the Eayah without a corresponding transformation of the Turk, the contrast of whose present demeanor to the Christian with that which I once re- member it to have been is indeed remarkable ; the only parallel I can think of for that which it used to be is in conduct equally unjust — perhaps unreasonable and arrogant — which has been recently exhibited by orthodox and Catholic Europeans to the Turks." Again, in alluding to otlier matters in the same report, he says : — "In a mixed commission for the settlement of debts between Turks and Christians, and the proceedings of which have been brought to my notice, some 300 or 400 claims have been respec- tively brought forward on both sides. On the part of the Turks they were, without exception, whether substantiated by written 190 TURKEY IN EUROPE. receipts or oral testimony, at once admitted. Of those preferred in the same manner against the Christians, how many will it be supposed were in the first instance acknowledged by the parties themselves ? Not one. If it be further asked how Christians could have possibly sunk to so low a level of morality as to for- swear themselves in this wholesale manner, I cannot positively say, but I have a shrewd suspicion how it has happened. '* Nothing has a more demoralizing effect than conscious power operating on the minds of the sordid multitude, particularly when they can make a merit of robbery in a fancied spoiling of the Egyptians. It is curious, on the other hand, to trace the retrib- utive effect of a vicious system. The legal fiction whereby the evidence of Mussulmans was substituted for that of Christians in. the Mehkemeh must have tended not only to vitiate its proceed- ings, but have inspired Christians with indifference to perjury in. their dealings with Mussulmans. "The treatment of the Christians in Turkey with reference to the pledges of the Hatt-i-Humayoun opens an interminable field of inquiry ; even as the document itself confers on those invest- ed with this inquisitorial power the unlimited right of inter- ference. At least this is the construction put upon it ; and the most comjilete conquest ever made of a nation, that which enti- tles the conqueror to say '* woe to the vanquished," has never conferred a right more sweeping, vexatious, and intolerable than this. And yet Turke}'', I need scarcely say, was not among the vanquished. And if, as we continually hear, we and others fought her battles for her, we did so not more, it may be an- swered, than she ours for us. " Public opinion, or those who pi'ofess to be its guides, declare that such a league can never be renewed, which means, I suppose, our interests can never again prompt us thereto. However that may be, it is no reason we should concur in the rash judgments, but deliberate bad faith, in the false suggestion and suborned tes- timony, by which Turkey is now in the course of being overborne and undermined. " The great mistake is leaving nothing to time. Time alone can bridge a period of transition, reconcile interests, and obliter- ate scars. This is the reason, too, why it is so much easier for some of the conquered races than for others to make their peaco with the Ottoman ; they are more patient than the rest." DIFFICULTIES OF REFORM. 191 This is all strong evidence of how necessary it is to be cautious in forming a hasty judgment on Turkish admin- istration. I beg my reader to compare the foregoing re- ports, written in 1867, with the report I have given as writ- ten by the same gentleman in 1860, and it will at once be apparent how great a stride was made on the path of re- form in that short space of time. The execution of the law greatly depends upon the character of the governor of the district, consequently we may find the rei)orts from one quarter all that can be desired, while from another the reverse is the case. The following description from Consul Stuart in Epirus, in 1867, although it is favorable to the Turk in the way of religious toleration, shows what in- justice may be perpetrated through the absence of an honest head to watch over the conduct of the Courts : — "1. Religious Liherty. — This principle is here scrupulously respected. All the Christians in Epirus, with the exception of a few foreigners, belong to the Greek Church. The places of wor- ship are numeroiis, their services are frequent, and some of their ceremonies and processions are attended with much public dis- play. But they are never interfered with in their religious exer- cises ; complaints of disrespect or contempt toward their faith are rarely, if ever, heard ; and during a residence of nearly six years in the country, only two or three instances have come to my knowledge of indignity offered to Christianity. In one case little boys were the offenders, and due amends were offered by their parents. In another, some grain was deposited by a Mussul- man proprietor in a church, but on complaint being made, it was at once removed by order of the local governor, and the act was publicly censured. In some places where the inhabitants are in part Mussulmans, bells are not allowed in the Christian churches. This is commonly put forward as a grievance. The term * ' Giaour " is sometimes applied in contempt to Christians ; terms of religious contumely are, I believe, in common use in every country where different forms of religion co-exist. "9.. Judicial Rights. — The administration of justice is extremely defective in this country. The tribunals, with the exception of the Mehkemeh, or Court of the Sacred Law, are all composed of standing members who exercise the functions of judge and jury, 192 TUEKET IN EUROPE. and who are cliosen in given proportions from tlie diiferent reli- gious denominations : the Preside at being always a Mussulman. All these courts are characterized by the deepest corruption and venality. Judgments are sold with but little attempt at conceal- ment ; so that in suits between Ottoman subjects, and sometimes, too, when others are concerned, the verdict is commonly in favor of the party which pays best. The proceedings of the courts, moreover, are out of all reason dilatory. As a rule the examina- tion of a case depends on the pleasure of the court, and is en- treated as a favor rather than demanded as a right. Judgment is but too often suspended for no other reason than to give time for underhand solicitations, and to see which of the litigants will bid highest for their verdict. *' Such is the general character of the courts of law in this country. No government can be blameless that sanctions or per- mits a system so fraught with mischief to the first interests of society. All the odium, however, must not be thrown on the Turks ; a large share of it belongs to the Christians — first, to those who are members of the different courts, and who are in general more dexterous and not less keen than their colleagues in turning to account the opportunities at their command ; secondly, to the mass of the Christian community who, while continually complaining of the injustice of their rulers, are ever ready to profit by the vicious administration of the law, and are by no means, it is believed, desirous that it should be changed for the better. Personal Treatment. — My experience in this country contra- dicts what is commonly said of the wanton cruelty of Mussul- mans toward their Christian fellow-subjects. Cases of brutality no doubt occur here, as they do in every country ; but I do not believe that the Christians are habitually subjected to personal ill- treatment. Like all Orientals, they are adepts in the art of com- plaint, and of telling piteous stories ; with admirable skill they can feign distress, and get up moving scenes of a nature to awaken sympathy in their favor, and to beget aversion toward those whom they hate. But the truth is, that many Christains in humble life choose to serve Mussulmans rather than persons of their own faith. Mussulmans, as landlords, have the name of being more easy than Christians ; as employers, more liberal ; as masters, more indulgent. They are in every way more consider- DIFFICULTIES OF REFORM, I93 ate for their dependents ; and, -R^liat is too common with the Christians, they rarely cast ofi a sick or worn-out follower. What a different picture we find here to that cast whole- sale among the public by agitators who have never been in Turkey. The late rebellion in Herzegovina is another instance of the system of hatching rebellion (such as occurred in Crete, and has since occurred in Bulgaria), and the following letters from Consul Holmes are evidence of the fact : — Bosna-Serai, July 2, 1875. " I have the honor to report to your Lordship that there is dis- turbance in the Herzegovina. Early last winter, some 164 of the inhabitants of the district of Nevessin left their homes and went into Montenegro. After remaining there some months, however, they petitioned the Porte to be allowed to return to Kevessin. The governor-general advised the Porte to reply, that as they had chosen to leave their country for Montenegro, they might remain there. The Government, however, decided to accept their re- quest, and allowed them to return. Shortly afterwards they appeared in revolt, declared that they were oppressed, refusing to pay their taxes or to admit the police among them, and they have been endeavoring by intimidation to cause their neighbors in the surrounding districts to join them. The Mutessarif of Mostar invited them to come to that place to state their grievances, which he assured them would be redressed, but they refused, and the governor-general tells me that they cut to pieces a man quite un- connected with them who had gone to Mostar to seek redress for some grievance, and threatened with the same fate any within, their reach who should do so in future. The governor-general informs me that at present he has no intention of sending troops against them, but will prevent their efforts to extend their revolt by surrounding these districts with policemen, and he will proba- bly send some of the notables of Serajevo to endeavor to bring them to reason. Thus the matter stands at present." Bosna-Serai, July 9, 1875. " With reference to my despatch of the 2nd July, regarding the disturbances in the Herzegovina, I have the honor to inform your Lordship that on the same day the governor-general sent 13 194 TURKEY IN EUROPE. Haidar Bey and Petrarclii Effendi, two notables of Serajevo, to communicate with the insurgents, who belong to the four vil- lages of Loukavach, Sovidol, Belgrade, and Terrousine, in the dis- trict of Nevessin. "Before they reached these villages, however, the disaffected peasants, who had forced and persuaded many others to Join them, had attacked and captured a caravan of twenty-five horses on the road from Mostar to Nevessin, belonging to some merchants of Serajevo, laden with rice, sugar, and coffee, which they carried off to the village of Odrichnia. At the same time they murdered and decapitated five Turkish travelers, named Salih Kassumovich, Marich, Samich, Ali of Nevessin, and another whose name is not yet known, a native of Hrasne. One of the insurgents, named Tchoubate, at the head of about 300 followers, drove away forty zaptiehs placed in the defile of Stolatz, and separating into small bands, have for the moment intercepted the various roads in tho neighborhood. One band is stationed at the bridge over the Kruppa, and renders the road between Mostar and Meteovich un- safe. The detached bands of insurgents are endeavoring to force others to join them by burning the houses of those who refuse to do so, and other means of intimidation. " The Governor-General has received telegrams from Mostar, signed by the two commissioners and the Mutessarif and com- mander of the troops at Mostar, stating these facts ; also that the headless bodies of the Turks have been recovered and buried. Under these circumstances the commissioners hesitated to con- tinue their journey ; and the authorities at Mostar state that great excitement prevails throughout the Mussulman population, who are impatient to attack the insurgents and avenge the savage murders of their co-religionists, whose decapitation has jmrticu- larly roused their feelings ; and requesting five battalions to keep order." Such was the commencement of the rebellion, and the following extract from a letter from Consul Holmes, dated Sept. 28, 1875, is evidence of how it was worked : — " Our colleagues of Austria, Germany, and Italy arrived at Mostar on the 23rd, with the same impressions and the same results as ourselves. DIFFICULTIES OF REFOUM 195 " The chiefs of the insurgents demanded a European interyen- tion and an armistice to allow them to consult and assemble at any place which might be fixed to discuss their affairs. They do not, and never have desired independence or annexation to Montene- gro, but they wish to remain Turkish subjects under very exten- sive administrative reforms, the execution of which to be guaran- teed by Europe. ** Whatever your Excellency may hear to the contrary, I can assure you that, in the Herzegovina, the only part of the people wishing for annexation to Montenegro are the districts adjoining the frontier from Sutorina to Kolashine. These districts are mere rocks, the scanty population herdsmen ; and they are a burden rather than a profit to Turkey. The frontier districts of Bilokia receive annually : — Piastres. Piastres. From the Government for the pay of Pandours 124,000 And pay for taxes 93,284 Which leaves a charge on the Government of 30,716 The districts of Trebigne receive 123,000 And pay for taxes 54,400 68,600 Those of Piva receive 128,250 And pay for taxes 108,594 19,656 118,973 *' Thus these districts are an absolute annual loss to the Porte of about 119,000 piastres. In Bosnia, almost to a man, the popu- lation would refuse to be annexed to Servia or Austria, and they have never dreamed of independence, which from the nature of circumstances and the state of education, is impracticable. They also only wish to be Turkish subjects, but to be governed with justice, and placed on an equality in law with the Mussulman compatriots. " There is no doubt that the Mussulmans and Christians agree much better in Bosnia than in the Herzegovina, where there is much more oppression to complain of ; at the same time, ac- quainted as I am with the social condition of the country during fifteen years, I do not hesitate to declare that the oppression in the Herzegovina in general is greatly exaggerated by the Christians, and that the discontent which undoubtedly exists against most of 196 TURKEY IN EUROPE. the chief Turkish landowners, and against the zaptiehs and tax- farmers, has leeii the excuse rather than the cause of the revolt, which was assuredly arranged lij Servian agitators and accom- plished ly force. The mass of the inhabitants, imaryned, had no choice. Their homes were devastated and their lives threatened, and they were ordered to follow their leaders. And noio the ruin is such that those who wish to submit cannot. They have no homes to go to, and the armed bands threaten all ivho breathe a ivhisperof submissio7i. These bands are all formed of a mixture of peojyle from different parts of the country, and all mutually watch each other to preve?it any combination to submit. " The ruin and devastation in the plain of Kevessin and along all the Dalmatian frontier, and wherever the insurgents have passed, is piteous to behold, and renders any satisfactory arrange- ment more hopeless than it would otherwise have been. " Your Excellency will observe that I have passed over the grievances of which the insurgents complain in a few general terms, because I think that at present the principal question is how to put an end as soon as possible to the actual state of affairs, which is apparently a complete deadlock." Now, I would beg my reader to remember how the attempt to get up a rebellion in Bulgaria in 1868 was managed (page i'^3 ), and how completely it failed, owing to the energy of Midhat Pasha, but how exactly similar the programme was to what is now enacted. If the oppression of the Herzegovina Christians was as great as represented, how is it that they were satisfied to remain as subjects of the Sultan, and did not cry out for annexation to civilized Austria, their near neighbor, or to free and independent Servia? The testimony of a gentleman like Consul Holmes, who could have no possible object or interest in misrepresenting facts, may be assumed to be accurate ; but when we see the manner in which the rebellion was fomented, and the thorough organization from •^i.thout by which it was carried on, we must receive all reports from committees of the rebels with the greatest caution and doubt. A broad distinction must be drawn between the Turkish DIFFICULTIES OF REFORM. I97 people and their rulers — the former deserve mucli praise, and the latter great blame. But a large share of the blame is attributable to the corrupt reign of Sultan Abdul Aziz, and it is in the power of a wise and honest sovereign to right the ship yet. A hard task, however, devolves upon him, as the seeds of corruption have taken firm root in all parts of the empire, and time is necessary to eradicate them. The machinery and organization of the administration is all that could be desired, which is a great step in advance, so that it is not necessary to pass new laws, but only to cany out with justice those which already exist. Mohammedans have suffered from the maladministration of justice just as much, and even more, than the Christians, but they have borne it with greater patience. The Turks themselves, high and low, have for some years past sighed over the state into which their country was sinking ; and as they truly said, it was not the fault of the nation, but of the corrupt and all-powerful head. I was talking to a highly educated and exceedingly clever Turk a few months ago about the affairs of his country, and I asked him what he considered as its greatest necessity. He replied, " Justice within and justice from withoiit." The Turkish administrators find themselves in the posi- tion of being in possession of an article — patronage — for which there is an eager demand, and they sell it to the highest bidder, and vdth it the interests of their country. But it is not venality alone that is the cause of the short- comings of Turkey. There are other nations quite as venal, and yet they advance rapidly in civilization. The apathy and procrastination in every department of the State, great and small, in every private house, high and low, in every transaction, however important or however trifling, are the causes which attenuate progress to such meagre dimensions. The Turkish ofiicial seldom refuses, but always postpones. If I had to devise a Turkish banner, I should inscribe 198 TURKEY m EUROPE. on one side of it, "Evet Effendim" (Certainly, Sir), on tlie other, "Yarin" (To-morrow), and below, tlie motto, "There is but one God, and backsliish is Ms prophet." The Christians in Turkey possess these faults quite as much, and even more, than the Ottomans, who indeed were inoculated with them on their conquest of the coun- try. So long as they exist, so long must Turkey lag in the path of progress, and the only means of cure are railways, telegraph, and time. CHAPTER XL EX EOUTE AGAIIS". Turkish Cavalry— The Chatal Dagli — Slivmia— Cloth Factories — Turkish Justice — A Turkish foi-m of Friendship — Geology of the Balkan— Land of the Bulgarian Atrocities — A Turk in adversity — A Hurricane — Yeni Zaghra — Turkish Officials — Eski Zaghra — Anarchy in Turkey — Silver Factory — A Bedridden Interpreter — Kezanlik — Attar of Eose. "VrOW tliat we have examined the character of the -l-^ Turk, and found from whence he came and how he found his way to Europe, and all the troubles he has brought upon himself by changing his nomad nature, we will return to Yanboli, and continue our travels among Ottoman subjects. Our next ride was to Slivmia, or Slimno, or Islivne, or Islandje, for I beg my reader not to consider that any of the names of places found in my work have any claim to accuracy of spelling ; on the con- trary, they are merely spelled phonetically, as the sounds fell upon my ear. It would only be pedantic to attempt to do otherwise, for there are as many ways of spelling the names of Turldsh towns as there are maps of Turkey, and even in the country itself the same town is called by different names by different races. After clearing the vineyards of Yanboli, which are very extensive, and must occupy as much as two thousand acres of land, we rose a long and gentle incline for about an hour, and the monotony of the dreary corn-growing country was only relieved by the sight of an untidy -look- ing squadron of wretchedly mounted Turkish cavalry. What would Togrul Beg, who was the son of Michel, who was the son of Seljuk, have said of these miserable de- scendants of his renowned horse ? 199 200 TURKEY IN EUROPE. On cresting tlie liill we were rewarded for our dreary ride by a most cliarming view of the Balkan Mountains, rising from a long plain which, stretched before us, with groves of trees here and there, which marked the sites of villages. The large and important town of Slivmia lay snugly at the foot of the Chatal Dagh, which rises to a height of 3,575 feet above the sea, and appeared about four miles off ; but distance is very deceptive in the clear air of that country, and we found the four miles length- ened themselves out to twelve before we arrived at the town. The appearance of the mountains here is very pe- culiar. The quartz-porphyry range of the Chatal Dagh rises in Jagged peaks and rocks and eccentric forms of a dark and sombre color, out of the smooth and rounded outlines of the calcareous mountains on each side of it, and the jagged outline of the great mass of this eruptive rock is most distinctly marked, and gives much grandeur to the scenery, which is here very varied. Such was the view to the north, while away to the southward, far in the distance, rose the high tortoise-back of the Sakar Bair, a great syenite mountain, which seems to have done some- thing to offend cartograiDhers, for although it rises to a height of 3,000 feet above the sea, it is not noticed in most maps. Brophy had telegraphed to a Polish friend to ex- pect us, and after about five hours' ride through culti- vated land, and past several Bulgarian villages, some with the minaret peeping through the trees, to mark the creed of the inhabitants, and others with the less conspicuous Greek Church, we approached the handsome town of Slivmia. "We were most hospitably received by the Polish engi- neer, who made us comfortable in his well-shaded house, which rejoiced in a large veranda formed of a trellis- work of vines, with luscious bunches of grapes within tempting reach. Roughly speaking, I should say that Slivmia contained twenty-five thousand inhabitants, composed of Turks, Bulgarians, and a few Greeks, Jews, and gipsies. It is CLOTH FACTORIES. 201 the seat of a Liva, and a military station for a regiment of cavalry and infantry, and also a battery of artillery. I had been told that there were no mannfactories in Turkey, but I here found one for making cloth which would have done credit to England. It is a Government institution, and turns out 200,000 yards of cloth annually for the army. I noticed that the machinery was all Bel- gian. All the women employed are gipsies. They were a wild-looking set, some of the girls hideously ugly, and others remarkably pretty, with that lively, careless, and independent air which is so characteristic of the nation. I was told that morality was not one of their virtues, but they are kept in excellent order while in the factory. The town is kept healthy and clean by running streams led from the mountains, and which ramify through the whole place. All the slaughter-houses are obliged to be in one quarter, and the animals are killed over the stream, which prevents effluvium. I now had an experience of a Turkish court, Brophy having a case to bring before it. The Governor, Djavid Pasha, had appointed the next morning for his attend- ance, and the case was follows : — The Consul had an English bailiff, who, while sitting in a khan, where the favorite spirit of the country, raki, was abundant, fancied himself insulted by a young Turk of good family, but who had been partaking too freely of the national stimulant. The Englishman walked tip to the Turk to expostulate, and whether the latter thought by the expression of his countenance that he looked danger- ous, I cannot say, but he drew his sword, and, Turkish fashion, attempted to hit him with the back of it. Bro- phy, who was present, flew at the Turk, and a scuffle en- sued ; but swords are sharp things to rough and tumble over, and the result was that all three parties suffered from some trifling cuts. Brophy complained to the Caimakam of his district, and was informed that the Turk was imprisoned. This was literally true, but he was let out again the next day, and 202 TURKEY IN EUROPE. was now at large. Brophy took tlie matter up seriously, and the result was the presence of both parties before the Pasha, or governor of the Liva, with whom Brophy hap- pened to be acquainted. The Turk belonged to a family of very great influence, and it was a delicate case. We made our way to the konak, or government house, and were ushered into th.Q presence of the Pasha, who received us with great cordiality. Turkish courts are all alike, so if I describe one I describe all. It will not take much s]3ace, as the only furniture is a carpet, with a divan all round the room, and one small table for the Pasha' s ink, etc. The courts are open, and anybody may enter and listen to any case which may be going on. We were given the seats of honor close to the Pasha, and coffee and cigarettes were produced, and while we were disposing of them, several petitions were presented, upon which the Pasha made his notes after conferring with the Cadi, or judge, who sat on his right. It is the custom in Turkey never to approach any subject of business until you have wasted some, perhaps, precious minutes in talking about generalities, and after this form had been gone through, the Pasha commenced to regret that Brophy should have been put to so much annoyance by a hot-headed and drunken young man, who was constantly getting into trouble. It was a matter which must either be treated with the greatest gravity, or with the contempt which it deserved, and he should strongly advise the latter course, which, if Brophy agreed to follow, he (the Pasha) would call up the young Turk before the whole court, and make him pub- licly apologize for his offense. Would the Consular Bey take a day to think over it, and attend again to-morrow ? After we had left the court, I felt that under all the cir- cumstances the Pasha had given good advice, and I strongly recommended Brophy to accept it, which he de- termined to do. The next day we attended, and first met the Pasha in a private room. As soon as the generalities were got over, Brophy informed him of his decision. It WIXE AND THE KORAK 203 was evidently a great relief to his miiid, but 1 was not a little astonislied at his method of showing his delight. Selecting \^ith care a particular hair in Brophy's whiskers, he, with a sudden jerk, di-agged it out, and assured him he was his best and firmest friend. Brophy rubbed his cheek, as he took the compliment quite complacently, and I afterwards learned that in Turkish society this plucking out a man's beard by the roots is considered a mark of great condescension and friendship. We now adjourned to the court, which was well filled. The young Turk was brought in as a prisoner, and in a very dignified manner the Pasha informed him that the Consular Bey, with great condescension and generosity, and in consideration of the feelings of his family, had con- sented to overlook his offense, and accept an apology ; that he might consider himself fortunate that he did not get a month' s imprisonment, and had it not been for his youth that punishment would certainly have been inflicted upon him. The Pasha then rated him most severely, and ordered him to apologize. Whereupon the young Turk stepped forward before the whole court, humbly took Brophy's hand, kissed it, and demanded pardon. I have given the details of this case, of which I was an eye-witness, because it was an influential Turk versus a Christian in a Turkish court, and I must confess that the Pasha showed much common sense as well as justice in the way in which he dealt vdth a very delicate case. I have elsewhere alluded to the sobriety of the Turks, and this case and others to which I may have to allude may appear like a contradiction, but I applied the term to the people generally, and not to the upper classes, and especially government officials, who, I am sorry to say, sometimes drink spirit as though it was water. Wine they do not touch, as it is forbidden in the Koran, but when that sacred book was written the art of distillation was happily unknown, and consequently spmt was not forbidden, therefore Mohammedans sometimes observe the letter but not the "spmt" of the law. The lower classes 204 TURKEY IN EUROPE. of Turks are as a rule very sober, far more so tlian any nation it has ever been my fortune to meet. There are most extensive vineyards in the neighborhood of Slivmia, and the wdne, which is of a Burgundy char- acter, is excellent ; but the vine-growers were in great distress this year in consequence of the destruction of the greater part of their vintage from a severe hail- storm. From Slivmia there are two routes to Kezanlik, one by the valley of the Tundja, and the other by Yeni Zaghra and Eski Zaghra. These two routes are divided by an important range of mountains, which are but imperfectly marked in maps of the country. They commence from the S.W. of Slivmia and run parallel to the Balkan, in- creasing in height until they reach the Karadja Dagh on the west, just south of Kalofer. The geological formation of these hills is exactly the reverse of that of the great Balkan, where the north side of the range is composed of cretaceous, and the southern of crystalline rocks. As the Karadja Dagh is approached, the cretaceous rocks break away to the south, leaving that mountain with a dolomite northern, and red sandstone southern, front. As might be expected, the appearance of the hills varies with the geological formation. Between Yeni Zaghra and Eski Zaghra they are rounded and tol- erably steep, while as the Karadja Dagh is approached they become very steep and more rugged. As Brophy wished to visit Yeni Zaghi'a, we chose that route, and after crossing the Tundja, soon after leaving Slivmia, we dipped over the low hills into the great fluvia- tile plain of the upper Maritza and its affluents. This plain reminded me of the Banat in Hungary, excepting that it is more thickly populated, and that it contains a few more trees than the latter country. We are now approaching the district which was the scene of the Bulgarian atrocities ; but I write from my notes taken in 1874, and I shall leave it to the reader to judge whether we found a country brought to such a pitch A SAD SIGHT. 205 of poverty and miseiy as to be forced into rebellion against their oppressors. It must be remembered, that although I was a compara- tive stranger to the country, and therefore liable to be deceived by first and favorable imiDressions, I was ac- comiDanied by a gentleman who was not only intimately acquainted mth the country, but was also, from his official position, enabled to obtain interviews with many of the better class of natives, Bulgarian as well as Turkish, many of whom were his personal friends. We, were, there- fore, not likely to be deceived, and if the Bulgarians had any grievances they would have been only too glad of the opportunity of pouring them out to the "Consulus Bey," or English Consul. It was now the 2oth of August ; harvest was over, and threshing was going on in many of the Bulgarian villages we passed, while others were encu'cled with numerous stacks of grain still in the straw. Plo^ving was active, and farmers were busy ; and well they might be with such a generous soil as the rich alluvial land they were culti- vating. As soon as we came upon the flat plain, which extends to the west and south as far as the eye can reach, we met the new highway road from Philippopolis to Yanboli by way of Eski Zaghra and Yeni Zaghra, with the telegraph wires running on poles beside it. This road was new, and it would then compare favorably with our largest and best roads in England ; but, unfortunately, in Turkey, although large sums are often laid out in making a highway, nothing is ever expended in keeping it in order. The consequence is, that a very few years after- ward the original expenditure is but a useless waste of money, for the road becomes impassable for wheeled carriages. At one spot we came upon a sad sight — a Turkish farmer sitting by the side of his numerous stacks of grain, the product of his year's industry ; but they were no longer golden from the yellow straw, but red from the glowing fire which had consumed them. It was supposed 206 TURKEY IN EUROPE. that some one liaci carelessly thrown the end of a cigarette into the straw in passing, and the thoughtless act had destroyed more than eight hundred pounds worth of grain. The man was a Turk, and, as a consequence, he was calm, dignified, and patient in adversity. He said that it was " written on his forehead" — the usual phrase to signify that it was the will of the Almighty that he should be punished. The neighboring Turks and Christians who were around showed much symjpathy for him, and it was proposed to start a subscription to helj) in making good his loss. The sun was very hot, the heat extremely oppressive ; the haze on the horizon in our front gradually thickened until it assumed that leaden hue which betokens a thunder- cloud, and I soon witnessed one of the heaviest storms of my experience. The air was perfectly calm, but far away on the plain in our front there was a black approaching wall, and we could see sticks and leaves and dust whirl- ing about in the air with gTeat velocity. There was a khan about a quarter of a mile ahead, so, setting spurs to our horses, we pushed for it as hard as we could gallop. A low moaning noise could be heard, which gradually grew into a roar as the clearly-defined bank of dust rushed upon us ; and then, as though to be in keeping with the tragic effect, there came a vivid flash of lightning and a loud and simultaneous clajD of thunder, just as the storm struck us. So thick was the black dust that I could not see Brophy, who was not five yards from me ; and although we were then not a hundred yards from the khan, by the time we arrived there we were covered with it from head to foot, and looked like negroes. The storm was not very grand, and great whirlwinds of dust and rubbish rose in spiral clouds high into the air, while the thunder and lightning were almost continuous. One vivid flash struck the earth, about a hundred yards from the khan, w^itli a loud smack, like the sharp crack of a whip, and the rain came down in such torrents that we were not sorry to have found shelter. After waiting TENI ZAGEBA. 207 an liour the rain still continued, but the wind had died away, so we pushed on. Signs of the storm were every- where visible, in fallen telegraph posts, and parts of the road washed away ; the flat plain was nearly turned into a lake, and toward evening we arrived at the town of Yeni Zaghra, which was almost under water. I hate a plain — nature and my legs intended me for the mountains, — and I consequently thought Yeni Zaghra a most miser- able place ; but it was evident that a vast number of peoi)le thought otherwise, for I never saw a more busy town. Building was going on in every direction, and the clack, clack of the hammers sounded like a builder's yard. The houses were good, and built of small bricks between beams of wood, like some of the old houses of Cheshii'e and Worcestershire. One part of the town is Turkish and the other Bulgarian ; or rather, I should say, one part is Mohammedan and the other Christian, for they are nearly all Bulgarians. We were fortunate in getting into a perfectly new khan, so that there were none of my old enemies, the bugs ; but the rain had come through the roof, and the wooden floors upon which we had to sleep were sodden with wet. The Caimacam, or Turkish gover- nor, came to visit us ; and while he and Brophy were dis- cussing the affairs of state with the usual accompaniments of cigarettes and raki, I stirred up the khanjee, or inn- keeper, to provide some food ; but it was past ten o'clock before we could get anything to eat. This is the weak point in traveling in Turkey : the fact is that the well-to- do natives, when traveling, have always the house of some friend to go to, and he passes them on to some other friend at the next station, and so on. The wants of the poorer classes are so moderate that a piece of bread and a bit of cheese is all that they require ; they are imper- vious to bugs, and would feel quite lonely and ennuye without the titiUatrng company of fleas. The consequence is that the khans are provided only for these poorer classes ; and the hungry well-to-do traveler must be content with a bit of bread and cheese, and must then 208 TURKEY IN EUROPE. offer himself up as a delicate and tender morsel for the feast and revels of the various insectivorse, vt^hich crawling, hopping, and flying, infest the place. The Caimacam of Yeni Zaghra was very civil and obliging, and begged me to Join in the "circling glass" of raid, instead of busying myself with seeing after dinner and arranging beds, etc., for the night ; but I refused to be a "spmt medium," much to the astonishment of the fat Turk. I have noticed two distinct types of Turkish officials, namely, the fat and the lean kine. The fat variety is generally coarse, vulgar, and bump- tious ; while the lean officer is refined, courteous, and a perfect gentleman. I imagine that the latter type more nearly represents the true Turk stock, as I was able to detect a Tartar-look in their physiognomy. It was as though a skillful sculp- tor had taken a Tartar face and chiseled refinement and beauty u^Don it. The Caimacam whom I met at Burgas before I left that town was of the latter type, and would have done credit to any society in any part of the world. I found that the value of land in the neighborhood of Yeni Zaghra was as much as £50 an acre ; and that be- tween that town and Eski Zaghra land could not be bought under £10 per acre, and it was very scarce at that price. The town now boasts of a railway station on the line leading from Adrianople to Yanboli. Our ride from Yeni Zaghra to Eski Zaghra lay along the new carriage road which runs at the foot of the range of hills on the right. This country was then thickly popu- lated, and for twenty miles I passed village after village, prettily ensconced at the foot of the hills, and separated by an average distance of about a mile. They were all Bulgarian, but many were Mohammedan, and they were all most prosperous and thriving. Every inch of land was cultivated, and I heard that the male population had be- come so excessive that many young men had to leave their homes and seek occupation in other parts of Turkey. WAR TAXES. 209 There were complaints of brigands who infested the neigh- boring mountains ; and I was shown a house in one viUage which had been attacked a few months before, and where the owner had been shot by these lawless scoundrels. This sounds alarming, and as though life and property were not safe ; but we may parallel it in England if we desig- nate our burglars by the more alarming title of brigands, and look over our police reports for a few years past. A few accounts of our Fenian riots, well colored and related as occurring in Turkey, would make the country sound very unsafe. Fancy, if it was now related that a Bulga- rian landed proprietor could only walk about his own estate in safety, accompanied by half a dozen policemen with loaded rifles to protect him from ambuscades laid for him by the fanatical Turks. How many hundreds of years would these anti-human specimens of humanity be thrust back in civilization ! Yet this was what occurred in Ire- land but a few years ago. If I was to relate a case of a Turk, who first seduced and then murdered a Bulgarian woman, cut her up in small pieces, and burned her flesh in the fireplace of the very room he was inhabiting, it would make a very terrible story ; yet a similar case occurred in England only the year before last. I mention these cases only to show how careful we ought to be not to accept highly-colored accounts of murder, arson, etc., which are collected from all quarters, and pub- lished in some newspapers as though they formed the occurrences of every-day life in the country it is intended to malign. Even while I write this I see accounts of horrible occur- rences in the district of Salonica, to the effect that life and property are not safe, that anarchy prevails, and that the unfortunate Christians are taxed to the utmost farthing to provide for the war, while the Turkish population is drained to the last man for the same purpose. Now I happen to have an estate in that very district which I have but Just left. My agent, a Scotchman, is living there with his wife and young family. I am suiTOunded by villages 14 210 TURRET IX EUROPE. both Turk and Cliristian ; I know many of the inhabitants of both creeds, and they are living peaceably together. Life and property are so safe that my agent does not even take the trouble to lock the doors of his house at night, and any one might walk in who might be so disposed. I think this is imprudent, but still the fact remains. I have upwards of a hundred people on the estate, nearly all of whom are Christians, but there are some Turks. The only war-tax my tenants and the neighbor- ing villages have had to pay, was a demand in the autumn for each man to furnish some warm socks and a woolen rug for the use of the Turkish troops, who were suffering from the cold in Servia. The total value of each contri- bution would certainly not be more than six shillings. This has been collected in the usual manner. The Mudir, or Turkish magistrate of the district, sent for the Codja Bashis, "headmen" of each village, and informed them of the amount of clothing the village was to supply, and ample time was given to provide it. I have since heard that a further tax, amounting to about eighteen pence per head, is to be levied. My TurMsh neighbors have certainly had some fine young men drawn for soldiers, but they are cultivating as much land as usual, and are even clamor- ing, good naturedly and civilly, for me to let them culti- vate a pet piece of my own land. This does not look like anarchy, oppression, and dan- ger ! But the accounts I read in some papers and hear in some speeches almost make my hair stand on end with horror. Am I dreaming ? Why, just before I left Salonica the Christians of that town gave an amateur concert /br tJie henefit of the TurMsli wounded. It was attended by the Turldsh Governor-General and all his staff, beside numer- ous other Turks, and a sum of nearly three hundred pounds was handed over by the Christians to the Turkish authorities as the result of the social gathering of the two creeds in the most holy — but too often one-sided — work of pure charity. ESKI ZAOHRA. 211 Tliere was a dance after the concert, and tlie Turks asked permission to be allowed to remain to see it ; and the quizzical expression of astonishment depicted upon their faces as they saw Christian men place their arms round the waists of Christian ladies and whiii them round in a galop was most amusing. There are a few brigands about in the neighboring mountain districts, it is true, but so there were "francs- tireurs " in France during the late war. When I read and hear all these sensational accounts, which are gathered and colored for a purpose, I feel inclined to shout out that expressive English word, '■'■Jiunibng ! " But to return to Eski Zaghra, a large Bulgarian town, prettily situated at the eastern foot of the Karadja Dagh. Has there been any progress here, I wonder? Let us see. In the year 1850 the population of the to-^Ti and 127 villages which surround it was 21,947. In the year 1870 the population was 32,236, of which 8,674 were Moham- medans, 1,177 gipsies, and the remainder Christians. In 1840 there was but one small Christian school in Eski Zaghra ; in 1870 there were fifty schools, with 2,280 pui)ils ! In the city there are four, and in the villages sixteen Christian churches, with thirty-eight priests of the Bulgarian Church. I went over a large silk manufactory in the center of the town, and which appeared to be admirably managed. About fifty Bulgarian guis were employed at tables con- taining an open trough of cold, and another of very hot water, and beliind each girl was a large di'um wheel, about three feet in diameter, worked by steam power. The cocoons are put by dozens at a time into the hot water. A gui dips her hand first into the cold water, and then seizes a hot cocoon, and detaches the thread of silk so quickly and dexterously that you cannot detect the ac- tion. She then leads the fine thread to a pipe connected with the circumference of the wheel, which winds off the sHk. The outer thread is fine, and is broken off at a certain 312 TURKEY IN EUROPE. distance, but the inner thread, althougli of a golden color, is more like coarse cotton than silk. The girls keep up a sort of chant during the process, and the general effect of the numerous drum-wheels with their golden coverings is very pleasing. I also saw a large soap factory, which I was told was paying well, and an enterprizing Bulgarian proposed starting a glass factory. One part of the to\^Ti was reserved exclusively for copper works for the con- struction of hammered cooking vessels, etc. As I should soon be obliged to part with my companion, Mr. Brophy, it was necessary to look out for an inter- preter, and he told me he knew of a Bulgarian lad who was a resident in the town, and who had been educated at Robert College at Constantinople. We had been fortunate in finding a tolerably comfort- able khan where we could get good food, and the khangee had sent far and wide in search of the interpreter "lad," who rejoiced in the name of Pano-Gospodinoff. After a time I was informed that some one "wished to speak to me, and a tall man about thirty years of age, with a black beard and moustache, and rather a Yankee air and dress, entered, and in good English, but vdXh a decided American accent, he introduced himself as Pano Gospodinoff. It struck me that the "lad" must have groT\Ti with amazing rapidity, or there must be some mistake. It turned out that he had not been educated at Robert College, but by the American Protestant Mission at Eski Zaghra, and that he had since been. lecturing in America on Turkey and the Bulgarians. He was willing to follow me anywhere, and engaged to act as interpreter for £3 per month and his keep. He was a smart, active, honest, and agreeable man, so I installed him at once, and never re- gretted it. He informed me that he was in possession of an excellent camp-bed, purchased in America, and hoped that I would make use of it. The bed was produced, and after more than a quarter of an hour spent in the most careful adjustment of complicated parts, it presented the KEZANLIK. 213 appearance of a long piece of canvas supported by a number of fragile sticks. "Now, sir," said Pano, "pray lie down and see how comfortable a bed is tliis." "Thank you," I replied, "but let me see you try it." He was nearly twice my weight. "Oh, sir,^ it is very strong beds — oh, yes, I ■will lie on it." And so he did — with a care which showed an intimate acquaintance ^\'ith this rickety invention. He poised him- self in its center, and gradually lengthened himself out gently until he reclined at full length. " There, sir, this is very strong " "Crash!" The sentence was cut short, as the whole thing suddenly collapsed, and left him buried in a wreck of sharp sticks poking him in many tender parts. But he was evidently used to it, and the bed was his hobby, and nothing could break his faith in his pet couch. He rose and perseveringly put it all together again, and offered a trial to me, but I declined with thanks. The bed accom- panied him for the rest of my travels, and much of his time was passed in putting it together. Our next day's Journey was to Kezanlik, and to reach it we had to cross the Karadja Dagh range by a long pass, winding through very steep hills composed of granite and gneiss rocks, covered in most places with oak scrub. There is a good carriage-road the whole way. Tliis pass would be a very easy one to defend, and might be made impregnable. It is about fourteen mUes in length. About half-way up the pass, and at an altitude of nearly one thousand feet above Eski Zaghra, there is a hot spring, strongly impregnated with iron. It is frequented by nu- merous invalids who come to take the waters, and there is a large, rambling building for their accommodation. The temperature of this spring is as much as 140^ Fahrenheit. The view from the top of the pass, as you descend to the plain of the Upper Tundja, is very beautiful. Kezanlik, surrounded by groves of trees, lies in the 214 TURKEY IN EJJROTE. center of the plain, and nnmerous villages, scattered in every direction, peep out through the foliage of beautiful walnut and other trees. This plain is about 1,300 feet above the sea. Opposite, and to the north, lies the great Balkan range, which at this point attains its highest altitude of 4,400 feet. The mountains end abruptly in the plain below, which gives them much grandeur, and the combination of mountain, plain, forest, and river is all that can be desired by the lover of scenery. We arrived at Kezanlik after a delight- ful ride of nine hours from Eski Zaghra, and were hos- pitably housed by a German, who is a member of the firm of Messrs. D. Pappozogiou Brothers, of Constantinople, and resides at Kezanlik for the purpose of collecting the attar of rose, for which the district is so celebrated. I was always under the impression that the attar of rose was made in large quantities in Persia, as well as in Tur- key, for I remember purchasing it in Bushire, many years ago, ^^nder the idea that it was a product of that country ; but my host informed me that I VN^as mistaken, and that the district south of the Balkan was the only part of the world where it has as yet been produced. The whole house was redolent with the scent of rose ; but although the aroma is very penetrative, in conse- quence of the subtle character of the essential oil, it is not at all overpowering, even when the nose is applied to an unstoppered bottle of the fluid. My host opened a cup- board which contained thirty large glass bottles of the attar, and told me that I was looldng at twelve thousand pounds worth of oil ! The flowers which produce it have the appearance of our common dog-rose, and are of the varieties known as Rosa Damascena, R. Sempervirens, and R. Moschata. The last-named affords the chief in- gredient of the attar. The natives themselves know very little about the va- rieties, and are only concerned with the profits they can make out of the oil. The plant is cultivated by the farm- ers in every village of the district, and requires a sandy ROSE CULTIVATION. 215 soil on sloping ground, exposed to the rays of the sun. The greatest care is bestowed upon its cultivation and the harvesting of the crop. Laying down a rose-garden may be done in either spring or autumn, upon ground which has been w^ell cleaned and plowed. Young rose-shoots are torn off the larger plants, so as to carry with them a portion of the roots, and these are laid almost horizontally in trenches about a foot deep and five feet ajDart, so as to form a future hedge ; they are then covered with earth and manure, and trodden carefully down. Under favorable circumstances the shoots will appear at the end of six months, when they should be earthed up, and the plants will be more than a foot high at the end of the year. At the end of the second year they yield a few flowers, but it is not until the third year that any profit can be made out of them. They are in full bearing in five years, at a height of about six feet, and last for fifteen years, when the plants cease to flower. They require earthing up four times a year, and should be manured every second year ; but although the manure increases the quantity of the oil, it interferes with the quality. No pruning is requii'ed, except to cut off all dead branches. Very severe cold will kill the plants, and those of the whole district were destroyed in this way in the year 1870. Hoar-frost, foggy and misty weather are also injurious to the crops, and a hot temperature during the process of distillation interferes with the yield of oil ; harvest com- mences in May, and lasts for about twenty days. The farmer counts the buds on his plants, and calculates the number which w^ill probably blossom daily, which he makes a divisor for the whole, and thus gets at the number of days his harvest will last. The flowers should be gathered before the morning dew is off them, and then immediately be distilled. Herein lies the difficulty, because it is impossible to judge, even 216 TURKEY IN EUROPE. approximately, of the rapidity witli whicli all the buds will blossom ; consequently, unless a very large staff is kept, so as to pick all the blossoms of a heavy crop in the short space of time that is available, and unless a large number of alembics are ready to distil them, a great por- tion of the crop, if there is a rapid blossoming, may be wasted. When the temperature during harvest is cold and damp, the blossoming is gradual, but when it is hot and sunny, it is rapid. The alembic consists of a convex copper boiler, narrowed at the top to a neck, which carries the headpiece, or condensing-tube (which is straight, and slopes downward), through a vessel containing cold water, until it meets the receiver. The boilers are made to con- tain, when full, about 240 lbs. of water, but only three- fourths of that amount is poured in, and 25 lbs. of blos- soms are added. Distillation goes on until the turbid- looking rosewater which is produced equals in weight the amount of blossoms in the boiler, namely, 25 lbs. The boiler is then removed and cleansed, and the i)rocess is repeated with fresh blossoms. The turbid fluid is again distilled, and this time there appears upon the double-distilled rosewater an oleaginous and yello\vish liquid floating upon the surface, and this is the celebrated attar of rose. It is sldmmed by means of a funnel-shaped spoon with a small aperture at the bot- tom, so as to allow of the escape of the water, but not of the oil. It appeared to me that some of the precious fluid must be wasted by this clumsy sldmming-process. I therefore suggested to my host that as the attar was extremely volatile, it might easily be distilled off the sur- face of the water, and thus a purer fluid would be obtained without waste. He said he should certainly give the idea a trial. The yield of attar varies greatly, but on an average it takes 4,000 lbs. of rose-blossoms to make 1 lb. of oil. The best quality of attar varies in price from 17 to 18 piastres the miscal, or from 15s. 4d. to 16s. lOd. per ounce : while inferior qualities realize fi"om 14 to 15 piastres the ATTAR OF BOSK 217 miscal. Tlie mode adopted for testing tlie purity of tlie different qualities of these oils is to put tlie essence into flasks, which are afterwards immersed in water at a tem- perature of 63^ or 68° Fahrenheit, when, if the quality be good, it wiU freeze. This is considered the purest oil. A stony, sandy ground, impregnated with oxide of ii'on, produces the best oil, while a hard and badly cultivated land will only yield oil of an inferior quality, which will not freeze at a temperature over 52° Fahrenheit. Manufacturers frequently adulterate the attar with a fluid which they produce fi'om certain Idnds of grasses. An English acre produces from 4,000 lbs, to 6,000 lbs. of blossoms, in fair years, and 34^ lbs. of blossoms produce about 1^ drachms of oH, which, on an average, may be said to be worth in the wholesale market about four shillings. Kezanlik is surrounded by irrigated gardens and large groves of magnificent walnut-trees. I find that it is customary to crush the walnuts, shells and all, for the sake of the oil which is thus produced, and which is much esteemed for cooking-purposes and for flavoring sweets. The whole district is also celebrated for its plums, which are delicious, and are gi'own in sufficient abundance to create a large trade in prunes. We were passing by an orchard of these fi'uit-trees, when a Turk, who was gather- ing the large black oval plums — seeing us cast longing eyes at the trees — came forward and insisted upon our fill- ing every available pocket -with the fruit — indeed, I believe he would have filled a basket, if we had possessed one. The district of Kezanlik contained in 1870, forty-eight vil- lages, with a population of 25,602, of which 12,921 were Mohammedans, 11,907 Bulgarian Christians, 646 Gipsies, and 128 Jews. There are some very old Christian churches in some of the villages of this district, especially at Mou- blis and Terzidera, one of which dates back to a.d. 1060, and the other to a.d. 1067. At the small town of Skipka, in the mountains opposite, there is another, which dates fi-om A.D. 1367. 218 TURKEY IN EUROPE. We paid a visit to tlie Caimacam of Kezanlik, wlio was one of the lean kine of Turks, and a tkorough gentleman and good sportsman. He was very anxious that we should stop and shoot partridges with him, but I was pressed for time, and had to push on. My great object as far as sport was concerned was to get some red deer stalking, and I had determined to give myself a fortnight for that enjoyment, and was anxious that the time should be employed on the most favorable ground. The Caimacam said there were red deer to be found in the forests on the neighboring mountains, but not in great numbers, and I learned from a Bulgarian commercial traveler that the best quarter for that sport was the neighborhood of the Rilo Dagh, near Samakov. While staying at Kezanlik I was called upon by a Bul- garian correspondent of the Levant Herald, an intelligent young man, very much "got up" with black kid gloves, etc. He spoke French fluently, and was most anxious to know what I thought of the country and the Bulgarians, of whom he seemed, with good reason, to be not a little proud. I can recommend any traveler who may think of visit- ing Kezanlik to put up at a large Bulgarian convent, where there is a good and clean house for the reception of visitors, either male or female. I went over the whole of this establishment, which contains about fifty nuns ; but they did not appear to be bound by very strict vows, as I was told that they can leave and marry whenever they like ; but this freedom is a very safe concession, as, from the personal appearance of the nuns, I should say that they would not be troubled with many suitors. I took leave of my hospitable German host with regret, for although Kezanlik is a dirty town, the suburbs are very pretty, the neighboring scenery beautiful, the air healthy and bracing, and my host was agreeable and clever. Our next journey was to Karlofer, a distance of about twenty-five miles, along what was then (1874) an ex- cellent carriage-road, with telegraph-posts the whole way. KAELOFER. '2l