remember that once, a little after midnight, our lodging began to shake
so violently that we thought the house would fall. I had been sound
asleep, but when it woke me and I could see by my night-light books and
cups tumbling about, laths and stones falling from the wall, and the
whole room shaking violently, for a moment I was dumbfoundered and knew
not what to make of it. At last, when it occurred to me that it was an
earthquake, I jumped up and ran out, for fear the house should tumble
in upon me. The same earthquake continued for some days, though the
shocks were not so violent. All through the city, and especially in our
lodging and in St. Sophia, even where the walls are most solid, may be
seen huge cracks caused by settlements from earthquakes.
I stayed at Adrianople about three months, and then, after concluding a
seven months’ armistice, I was taken back to Constantinople in March.
As I was tired of being confined in the same lodging, I had recourse to
the cavasse who acted as my keeper (for among the various duties which,
as I have already told you, are assigned to men of this profession
amongst the Turks, is the custody of ambassadors), and asked him to
allow me, like other ambassadors, to hire a house with a little bit
of garden or pleasure-ground, at my own expense. The cavasse made no
objection, as it would be a saving for his master of 400 gold ducats
a year if I took a house for myself, this being the price which the
Sultan paid for my present lodgings; so I hired a house, or rather
block of buildings, with some land about it, where I intended to lay
out a garden, hoping by this means to divert my mind from the cares and
anxieties of my position.
When, however, my cavasse found it was impossible to watch me in a
house, which was furnished with several means of egress and lay in
its own ample grounds, as strictly as in a caravanserai (a word with
which I think my former letters have made you familiar), where all the
windows were closely barred, and to which there was only one entrance,
he changed his mind, and induced the Pashas, who had now returned
from Adrianople, to shut me up once more within the walls of our old
lodging. Thankful, indeed, was I that I did not get worse treatment,
for some of the Pashas held that, now that I was alone, it was a
needless extravagance to give me such a roomy lodging. The majority,
however, of the council were more considerate, and I was allowed to
return to my old prison-house.
I will take the opportunity of giving you a description of my abode.
The house is situated on high ground in the most populous quarter of
Constantinople. From the back windows there is a lovely view of the
sea; though we are at some distance from the shore we can distinguish
the gambols of the dolphins in the water, while the prospect is
bounded by Mount Olympus in Asia, white with perpetual snow. On every
side it is open to the breezes, and is on this account considered a
peculiarly healthy residence. So airy a situation the Turks appear to
think too good for foreigners, as they have not only put iron bars on
our windows, to the discomfort of our eyes, but have built up parapets
which prevent our getting fresh air or a good view. This was done to
meet the complaints of our neighbours, who declared that their houses,
which stood on lower ground, were completely exposed to the gaze of
the Christians. In the centre there is a large open space or court in
which is a well. No one lives on the ground-floor, but on the upper
storey there is a verandah running round the court, out of which open
the chambers which form the outer part of the building, and which
consist of a great number of small rooms, all built after the same
pattern, like the cells of a monastery. The front windows open on the
public street leading to the palace; and from them the ambassadors
have an opportunity, nearly every Friday (which answers to our Sunday)
of seeing the Sultan on his way to his devotions. As he passes, the
cavasse and Janissaries make their bow, or rather return his, for among
the Turks it is the custom for the man of higher rank to bow first. In
conformity with this rule, the Sultan himself does not wait for the
people in the street to bow to him, but first bows himself, and they
return his salute amid loyal shouts and blessings. The ground-floor
of the edifice is intended for a stable. The vaulted roofs, which are
universal throughout the building, render it safe from fire on the
inside; while on the outside it is protected by a covering of lead.
While the house has many advantages, it must be allowed that it has
corresponding inconveniences. Everything in it is constructed for use,
and nothing for ornament or comfort; it has no beauty or novelty of
design to render it attractive. It has no garden to take a walk in;
not so much as a tree, or shrub, or patch of grass to refresh the
eye, while it swarms with different kinds of vermin, such as weasels,
snakes, lizards, and scorpions. Sometimes when a man goes to fetch his
hat in the morning, he has the unpleasant surprise of finding a snake
coiled round it. However, to let you into the secret of our diversions,
we contrive to extract some amusement from these creatures. Sometimes
a weasel has a battle-royal with a snake, with my whole household
standing round, and in spite of its struggles drags it off in triumph
to its hole; sometimes again a weasel changes its abode, and moves
its young elsewhere. For instance, the other day, when my friends and
I were still at dinner, one of them jumped down on the middle of the
table from her nest in the roof with a young one in her mouth. On our
pulling her away, she left it there, and stationed herself at the door
to see what would happen to the cub. After amusing ourselves with the
ugly little beast we placed it on the floor, whereupon the mother
darted in, caught it up, and carried it off to its new home.
We also had an opportunity of inspecting a strange, reptile from the
stables, which had been trodden on by the horses and killed; it was
either a snake or a python. Its stomach appeared to be very much
swollen, so I ordered my people to cut it open, and there we found
three good-sized mice. I could not make out how an animal that crawled
so slowly could catch such nimble creatures; nor could I understand
how it contrived to swallow them whole, when its jaws were, as it
seemed, so narrow. But my difficulty was solved by my finding another
snake in the act of swallowing a toad or poisonous frog. It had seized
it by the hind legs, and had already sucked them and a good part of its
body down its throat. The toad was still alive, and kept endeavouring
to get away from its enemy, struggling as hard as it could with its
front feet. When I first saw it I was thoroughly puzzled. I thought
the creature was some strange abortion, for it appeared to me to be
a two-footed beast, with an enormous tail. When I saw what it was, I
began beating it with a stick, and tried to make it release its victim.
It was frightened, and did its best to disgorge its prey in order to
escape; but it was some time before it could succeed in getting rid of
the toad, for it had sucked it in so far that the creature stuck in its
throat. At last, after much difficulty, it managed to disgorge; but
then it could not shut its mouth, and gaped hideously with its open
jaws until we killed it. My stick, if Pliny is to be believed, would be
serviceable to women in childbirth.
Besides the creatures that breed in the building, I keep a good many
animals, which furnish my people with employment and amusement. I am
heartily glad to have something for them to do, as otherwise they would
get terribly homesick. For what better resource is left us in our
isolation than seeking to forget our cares in the society of animals?
There is not much amusement to be had, I warrant you, in a great
stone prison-house like ours. The chief favourites are the monkeys,
on account of their strange tricks, which are very amusing. You may
generally see round their cage a group of admiring bystanders, who
watch their mischievous pranks with the keenest interest. I have also
wolves, bears, broad-horned stags—which are frequently but incorrectly
called fallow deer—and common deer, likewise gazelles, lynxes,
ichneumons, and of the weasel kind the varieties called martens and
sables; also, if you care to know, a pig as well, whose companionship
I am told by my grooms is wholesome for horses. I certainly ought to
have given him a place in my catalogue, as he attracts numbers of
Asiatics to my lodging. They come to see this unclean animal, which
the laws of their religion forbid their tasting. The beast is all the
more interesting to them, because pigs are never kept, or even seen,
in their country. Indeed, a Turk would as lief touch one of them as I
would touch a man with the plague.
I will tell you a capital story of a friend of mine, who took advantage
of this prejudice. He wished to send me a private parcel, so he got a
little pig, and put it with the parcel in a sack, which he then told
his servant to take to me. When he came to the door my cavasse met
him, and asked him what he had got in the sack. The servant whispered
in his ear, ‘It is a little pig, a present from a friend.’ The cavasse
gave the sack a poke with his stick, on which the little pig began to
squeak. The moment he heard it he made a hasty retreat, crying out,
‘Well, take your nasty dirty present in, if you must, and be hanged to
you.’ Then, with a look of intense disgust, he turned to his fellow
Mussulmans, and said, ‘How extraordinarily fond the Christians are of
the flesh of that filthiest of animals; they positively cannot live
without it.’ Thus the servant was admitted, and brought in the secret
parcel.
I have also many kinds of birds, such as eagles, ravens, jackdaws,
foreign kinds of ducks, Balearic cranes, and partridges. From this you
will see that my house is full of animals, ‘A Noah’s ark, in short,’
as one of my friends observed.
Not only is the menagerie a great resource for my people by keeping
them from fretting, but I also derive advantage from it myself, as I am
able to verify the wonderful stories I have read in various authors of
the great affection beasts are capable of entertaining towards human
beings. I never ventured to accept these statements for facts, until I
saw an Assyrian lynx so attach himself to one of my people after only
a few days’ acquaintance, that one could only explain it by the theory
that he had fallen in love with him. When he was present the lynx would
give him many caresses that plainly showed his affection, hugging and
all but kissing him. When he wished to go, the animal would try to
detain him by placing its claws gently on the hem of his garment, and
would cast wistful looks after him as he went away. During his absence
the lynx was in a state of the deepest melancholy, constantly gazing
at the door till the man returned; on which the creature, strange to
say, recovered his spirits and welcomed his friend. When I took the man
away with me to the Turkish camp across the water, the poor beast was
inconsolable, refused its food, and after a few days pined away. I was
much annoyed at this, for I had intended to make him, with a very tame
ichneumon I had, a present to the Emperor, on account of the remarkable
beauty of his coat; it was indeed so handsome, that if a common lynx
were set by his side you would hardly think that they both belonged
to the same species. It is in Assyria that the handsomest lynxes are
found, and their skins are worth fifteen or sixteen golden crowns. I
have no doubt that they are the same as the Babylonian skins considered
so valuable in former days, which are mentioned in the Digest in the
chapter on Farmers of the Revenue.[165]
Here is another story, which relates to a bird. Among other cranes I
have a Balearic one. This species is distinguished from the common
kinds by a white tuft of feathers hanging down from either ear, and
also by the black feathers which cover the front of its neck. These
last the Turks are wont to stick in their caps. It also differs in
size from common cranes. This Balearic crane I speak of showed most
distinct signs of affection for a Spanish soldier, whom I ransomed from
captivity, being so attached to him that it used to march beside him
for many hours as he walked, to halt when he stopped, and to stay by
him when he sat down; and it allowed itself to be stroked and patted
by him, though it could not bear to be touched by any one else. When
he was away, it used to go to his room and knock at the door with its
beak. If it was opened, it pried about to see if it could find him.
When it found itself disappointed, it used to go all over the house
and disturb us all with cries so loud and shrill that we were obliged
in self-defence to shut it up; but when he returned, it would run to
meet him with outspread wings and queer comical gestures, as if it
were practising some outlandish jig, or preparing to do battle with a
pygmy.[166] To be short, at last it made a custom of sleeping under his
bed; and one day actually presented him with an egg.[167]
You have heard the marks of affection for men displayed by two
animals. I will now give you an instance of an ungrateful beast, which
proved itself both savage and treacherous. I had a tame stag which
lived with us for many months and seemed quite domesticated. When
the rutting season arrived, however, he suddenly became so frantic,
that, forgetful of the ties of hospitality and kindness, he as it were
declared war on us and treated us all like enemies, attacking with
his horns everyone he met, so that we were obliged to shut him up.
One night he broke out in spite of bars and bolts, and frightened the
horses, which, after the Turkish fashion, were passing the night in
the open air in the courtyard. When the grooms ran out to quiet the
disturbance, and tried to drive the stag back to his prison, he not
only refused to go in, but turned on the men and wounded several of
them. Excited by this they drove the foe into the stable, which, as I
said, was very spacious, and there with my permission attacked him with
lances, hunting spears, and every weapon that came to hand. At first
he made a gallant defence, but at last, overcome by numbers, he fell
pierced with wounds in every limb; for more than forty men were arrayed
against him, and he was all alone. Thus he atoned for his bad conduct
to his hosts. All the ambassadors at Constantinople had a share of the
fruits of that night’s chase, for I had the stag cut up and sent them
each a present of venison.
The stag was one of very large size, like those that are in the habit
of going up from Hungary to Austria at the beginning of autumn for the
purpose of mating with their kind. I got him from beggars who made a
profit of him. They went about collecting alms, and before asking for
money they repeated a prayer, in which there was frequent mention of
the name of God. As often as it occurred they bowed their heads, and
they had trained the stag to do the same. By this the lower orders were
led to imagine that the animal recognised the name of God, and gave
many a penny to its owners. As the stag was an unusually fine specimen
of its kind, I had intended bringing him to the Emperor.
Now that we are talking of Turkish beggars, I may as well give you some
account of their ways. They are not so numerous as with us, and for
the most part consist of religious impostors of one kind or another,
wandering from place to place. Some feign madness or idiocy as an
excuse for their begging, for lunatics and crazy folk are considered
sure of salvation by the Turks, and therefore regarded as saints
whilst still on earth. There are Arabs too among them, who carry about
with them banners, under which they declare their ancestors fought
to extend the Moslem religion. They do not beg indiscriminately or
from everybody, but force upon the passers-by in the evening a tallow
candle, a lemon, or a pomegranate, for which they expect double or
treble its value, that so by a pretence of selling they may avoid the
disgrace of asking.
But the people who among us are beggars among them are slaves, for when
a slave has lost the use of his limbs his master is still bound to
maintain him; besides, however feeble a slave may be, they manage to
get some service from him. I remember ransoming a Spanish gentleman,
who had been an officer in his own army. Though he was completely
crippled by his wounds, yet the Turk who had bought him managed to make
some profit of him. He took him over to Asia, where flocks of geese
are kept, and hired him out as goose-herd, by which he turned a nice
little penny.
I have my doubts as to whether the man who first abolished slavery
is to be regarded as a public benefactor. I know that slavery brings
with it various disadvantages, but these are counterbalanced by
corresponding advantages. If a just and mild form of slavery, such as
the Roman laws ordained, especially with the State for master, had
continued, perhaps fewer gallows and gibbets would be needed to keep
those in order who, having nothing but life and liberty, are driven by
want into every conceivable crime. Freedom when combined with extreme
poverty has made many a man a rascal; it causes temptation such as few
can resist. Nature has denied to many the power of self-control, and
the knowledge which is indispensable for acting aright; they need the
support and guidance of a superior as the only means of stopping them
in their career of vice. They are like savage animals, and require
chains to prevent their becoming dangerous.
In Turkey the class which is likely to go astray is controlled by
a master’s authority, while the master is supported by the slave’s
labour. Both publicly and privately the Turks derive great advantages
from this institution. Slave labour enables them to live both
comfortably and economically; indeed they have a proverb to the effect
that no one can be considered poor as long as he is master of a single
slave. So also in the department of public works, if there is any
building, removing, clearing, or breaking up to be done, there is a
constant supply of slave labour to execute the work. We never attain
the grandeur of the works of antiquity. What is the reason? Hands are
wanting, or, in other words, slave labour. I need not mention what
means of acquiring every kind of knowledge the ancients possessed in
learned and educated slaves. Well, well, you must not put down all this
as my serious opinion; it is a mere fancy which I should be sorry you
should take in sober earnest.[168]
Slave-hunting is the chief source of profit to the Turkish soldier. If
he brings back from a campaign nothing except one or two slaves, he
may consider himself well repaid for his exertions, as the price of an
ordinary slave is from forty to fifty crowns, and twice this sum may be
obtained for a slave who is young or handsome or a skilful craftsman.
This will give you a notion of the gain they make, when they carry off
some five or six thousand prisoners from a town, and will show you how
profitable their raids must be. I observe that the Romans also did not
despise gains of this kind; nay, their own writers tell us how they
sold by public auction the populations of entire cities, numbering
25,000 or 30,000 souls. The Turks would make of such a booty fifteen
hundred thousand crowns more or less. They abstain, however, from
exercising the rights of war over men of their own religion, and allow
them to retain the status of freemen unimpaired.
But to return from this digression. As I have already spoken of my
hunting, I must now tell you about my fowling. Kind as the Turks are
to all animals, they are especially so to birds, and most of all to the
kites, whom they regard as useful scavengers of their city. Accordingly
these creatures, having neither snares nor missiles to fear, are to be
found in numbers at Constantinople, and are wonderfully tame. They come
at one’s whistle, and pounce on pieces of food which are thrown into
the air. My plan is to order a sheep to be killed; the kites are then
whistled for, and fragments of the offal are thrown into the air. In a
moment some ten, twelve, or twenty appear, and presently they gather
so thick as almost to overshadow the house. Some are so bold that
they will snatch the meat from my people’s hands as they hold it out.
Meanwhile I post myself behind a pillar with my crossbow,[169] pick
out a kite, and make my clay bullets rattle on its wings or tail, till
I have brought down one or two. I am obliged to bolt my gates before
indulging in this sport for fear of irritating the Turks.
Talking of birds, I must tell you about my partridges, so that you may
have a full account of all my amusements, and may perhaps feel the
same surprise about the habits of these birds that I did. I had some
partridges from Chios with red beaks and red legs, so tame that they
became quite tiresome. They were continually at my feet, beating the
dust from my velvet slippers with their beaks to dust themselves with.
They got so troublesome that I ordered them to be shut up in a room,
where they grew so fat that they died after a few days’ confinement. At
least this is the account my servants give, and the question is whether
to believe them or Pliny, for the latter has a passage to the effect
that hares and partridges never grow fat. So far you have no ground for
surprise, but listen to the rest of the story. Chios abounds in birds
of this kind, which live there in the houses. Almost every peasant
keeps more or less of them, according to his means or inclination. At
dawn the public herd summons them by a whistle, and they run out in
crowds, and gather on the road. Then following their keeper, like sheep
do with us, they go into the fields, where they feed and sun themselves
all day long. Towards evening they are recalled by the same signal,
and return home in a body to their several roosts. This habit is said
to be formed by the peasants putting the birds, as soon as they are
hatched, into their bosom inside their shirt, and so carrying them
about and nursing them for a day or two, lifting them from time to time
to their mouth and feeding them with spittle. They become attached to
their masters by such kind treatment (for indeed almost every animal
has a more lasting feeling of gratitude than man), and do not forget
those who nursed them. One precaution only must be taken; they must not
be allowed to pass the night in the fields, for if this should occur
once or twice they readily return to their natural habits, and prefer
a free life to the company of man. I am doing my best to secure one of
these partridge-tamers for the Emperor, so as to introduce the art into
our country. Although I have not seen with my own eyes this system in
practice, yet its existence is established by witnesses so numerous
and credible, that I place the same reliance on my ears that I should
on my eyes. The same may be said of the following anecdote, which is
here so commonly reported and so universally admitted, that any one,
who ventures to throw doubt upon it, is thought an ignoramus. Those
who come hither from Egypt, as many do every day, uniformly declare,
that in that country eggs are not put under hens to be hatched in our
fashion, but that in spring a sort of vast oven is made out of a big
dunghill by certain men who carry on the trade. To this the whole
neighbourhood far and wide bring their eggs, which are put in and
quickened by the heat of the sun and the rotting dung. In due time the
eggs produce chickens, which are distributed by the managers of the
business to the people who brought the eggs, not by counting, for that
would be too long a process, but by measure. I have less hesitation in
telling you this, as there is a passage in Vopiscus quoting a letter of
Adrian’s, in which he vents his wrath on the Egyptians in the following
words:—‘I wish them nothing worse than to be fed on their own chickens,
which are bred in a way too foul to speak of.’[170] I have no doubt
this was an old custom among the Egyptians, and I suspect it was on
that account that Adrian reproached them with the foulness of their
food, inasmuch as they lived on chickens hatched in dunghills. I may,
however, be mistaken, and I leave the point for your decision.
I will now complete the catalogue of my amusements. I keep several
thoroughbred horses, both Syrian, Cilician, Arabian, and Cappadocian,
and also baggage camels, so as always to have cattle ready for my
return journey. I do this, because I wish the Turks to believe that,
having fulfilled all my master’s instructions, I am only waiting for
the Sultan’s permission to depart; for this I have now been pressing
for a long time past in very urgent terms, the truth being that,
in consequence of their present discords and the civil war between
the brothers, I do not despair of negotiating a peace on fair and
reasonable terms.