party who were going to see the Sultan's palace on the lower side of the
bay. It is a very comfortable pleasant country seat, without containing
any furniture of a costly description; the usual display of Oriental
taste and magnificence being lavished on the baths, which are situated
at a short distance from the main building, in a delightfully secluded
spot; and are as splendid and luxurious as art can render them. The
little valley in which the kiosk stands has been entirely enclosed by
stone walls, in order to form gardens and pleasure-grounds; and it is
possible to ride for five or six hours through the broad and stately
alleys cut through the groves and shrubberies of this lovely domain,
without passing twice over the same route. [Sidenote: RAPACITY OF THE
SULTAN.] This truly royal dwelling once belonged to an iman, whom the
Sultan thought proper to bowstring[16], and forfeit his lands. Of the
precise nature of his crime I am ignorant; but in a country like Turkey,
where the caprice of the Sultan is the law, a very slight pretext is
sufficient to ensure the destruction of such as have excited his
rapacity by an imprudent display of wealth, or his jealousy by attempts
to acquire popularity: in the present case, it was probably the great
beauty of this estate that caused its owner's destruction. However this
be, I certainly envied his sublime highness the possession of so
charming a retreat: it is a place to live and die in; and I felt a
momentary desire to pass the remainder of my existence within its
ever-blooming orange, rose, and jasmine bowers. I believe it might
belong to the British government for a trifle, having been offered by
the Sultan to Mr. Stratford Canning, who refused it, from very
honourable motives, as he considered it possible he might be suspected
of pressing the government to purchase it, with a view to his own
private enjoyment.
The Sultan is now not sorry we declined his offer, for he spends a great
portion of his leisure in this, the most pleasant, romantic, and
delightful of all his summer residences. We left it highly gratified,
after partaking of some delicious strawberries, cherries, and melons,
which the gardeners brought us from the hot-houses.
[Sidenote: DEPARTURE OF THE ACTAEON.] After dining at the palace, I found
an opportunity of mentioning to his Lordship that I was invited to
return home in the Actaeon, she being supposed to be on the point of
sailing; but, if this was uncertain, I should endeavour to find another
mode of conveyance. Lord Ponsonby, thus appealed to, acknowledged that
there was no chance of the ship sailing till her time was up, for he had
written to the admiral of the station, and the government at home, to
have the Actaeon fixed at Terapia, at his disposal. As he did not know
what might happen between him and the Russians, he thought it right to
have a frigate to go away in, if necessary; and he preferred that vessel
for the purpose, as he felt a strong personal friendship and regard
towards both captain and officers. This communication, which was highly
complimentary to my friends, as well as particularly satisfactory to
myself, decided me at once, and, on returning home, I announced to my
gay warm-hearted companions on board the Actaeon that the painful moment
of separation was at hand. The blow was not unexpected, yet some of us
would rather it had been deferred. The next morning I started for Pera,
and bargained with the directors of the steam-boat for my own and my
friend's passage to Malta.
[Sidenote: VISIT TO THE MOSQUES.] _Thursday, 20th._--This being the day
fixed for the American charge d'affaires' visit to the mosques, at nine
o'clock our party sallied forth, and, on arriving opposite the Seraglio
Gate, we bought slippers, took our pipes, and squatted in the shade,
under the wide-spreading roof of the beautiful fountain in the centre of
the square.
St. Sophia was built by Justinian on the ruins of a church of the same
name, already twice destroyed; and part of the dome was a third time
overthrown by an earthquake. Splendid and various were the treasures it
once contained; but these have been long since removed by the
desecration and sacrilege of the Latin and the Moslem; and nothing of
that description is now left to astonish the pilgrim of either creed,
who approaches this sacred temple. Justinian gloried that he had erected
a place of worship which far surpassed the work of Solomon; and on
dedicating it the second time, after the restoration of the dome, he was
nearly maddened by joy. What would have been his feelings, could he have
foreseen the day when the conquering Latin should defile its altar, and
the infidel Turk convert it into a temple for the worshippers of his
prophet, after being consecrated to the pure religion of Christianity
for a period of nine hundred years! St. Sophia is thus equally an object
of veneration to the Christian and the Musulman.
On the arrival of our American friends, we mustered in a large party
before the bronze gates of the church, where we were all for a few
moments busily engaged in taking off our boots and putting on the
slippers we had purchased. This done, we proceeded into the interior of
the edifice, with which I confess myself greatly disappointed; as the
_tout ensemble_ displays no magnificence, and the impressions on the
gazer's mind, partake of none of that involuntary admiration and
religious awe, which the sight of an old English cathedral, or the
splendid churches of Italy, never fails to produce. One of its greatest
defects arises from want of loftiness in the dome, the diameter of which
is one hundred and fifteen, while its height does not exceed twenty
feet. There is an immense number of columns, the spoils of various
heathen temples. Of these, eight, of porphyry, are from that dedicated
to the Sun by the Emperor Aurelian; and the same number, of green
marble, verd antique, or _serpentine_, from the temple of Ephesus. Very
little of the ancient mosaic now remains, as the devotees, both Turk and
Christian, have for ages been in the habit of pillaging it, to make
ornaments, beads, and talismans; so that the work of destruction is
nearly complete, and a manufacture of these relics, which are composed
of gilded glass, will soon be required. I bought a whole handful for a
few paras; and having seen them dug out of their cement by the mufti who
sold them, I can vouch for their being genuine.
We now ascended into the upper and lower galleries; in the former of
which the Greek women performed their devotions, and the men in the
latter. Two doors, one on either side of the passage in which we now
were, opened into a third gallery, where I was told stood the "gates of
heaven and hell." They are of marble, but the origin of this
superstition I could not learn. The floor of the mosque was covered with
beautiful carpets, and the ornaments resembled those I saw in that of
Soliman the Magnificent, which is considered a much finer building. St.
Sophia is also surpassed in beauty by the mosque of Sultan Mehemet,
which may be considered as the St. Peter's of the East. The next in size
and grandeur are those of Achmet and Osman; but as these buildings very
much resemble each other, both in external and internal form and
decorations, to see one is quite sufficient: "ab uno disce omnes." A
greater or less number of elegant, tall, slender minarets or towers, are
attached to each mosque in proportion to its size. They are dazzlingly
white, like the edifices to which they belong, and are surmounted by
golden crescents that flash and sparkle in the brilliant sunbeams of
this sultry clime; and, as the number of public religious foundations is
immense, independently of thousands of private mosques; the united
splendour of so many glittering objects, added to the beauty of the deep
blue cloudless sky, contribute to render the view of Constantinople,
from a distance, one of the most singular and attractive prospects on
the earth.
On quitting St. Sophia, we proceeded to the mosque of the Sultan Achmet,
situated in the Atmeidan[17]; but I did not observe any thing
particularly worthy of notice, except the court, which is very beautiful
and shaded by fine trees. The Osmalie, or "light of Osman," is built of
pure white marble; and may be pronounced to hold the same rank among
_giomi_, or mosques, as the Cathedral of Milan among Christian churches.
Its clean and white appearance, the untarnished splendour of the gilded
railings which surround that sacred spot, pointing eastward towards
Mecca, the burial-place of the Prophet; together with the rich and
brilliant patterns of the soft carpets that overspread the floor, called
forth unqualified admiration from the whole party. We were equally
pleased with the assiduity and politeness of the mufti, or priest, who
acted as our conductor, in explaining every thing worthy of notice; as
well as the purposes to which the different portions of the edifice were
applied.
By this time, our fair American friends had pretty well satisfied their
curiosity; and they judiciously resolved not to weaken these favourable
impressions, by visiting any less respectable mosque. For my own part, I
had been congratulating myself on the pleasure I should enjoy, in
making a sort of pilgrimage to that of the lovely, gentle, and virtuous
Rose, better known by the name of the Sultana Valide: but the ladies
out-voted me; and, after expending a vast deal of eloquence in vain
endeavours to inspire them with a portion of my sentimental enthusiasm,
I was reluctantly compelled to submit to the disappointment; it being
impracticable to get admitted any where without the firman. I therefore
made my bow, and returned to Terapia, to complete the necessary
arrangements for our intended departure.
_Friday, 21st._--I again visited many of the beautiful spots in the
vicinity of my residence, to-day; and crossed over to the Sultan's
Valley to bid it a final adieu. In recalling to mind, hereafter, the
scenes and occurrences of which I was there a partaker, I anticipate
even more pleasure than was produced by their actual enjoyment. "Haec
olim meminisse juvabit."
[Sidenote: FATE OF CONSTANTINOPLE.] _Saturday, 22d._--To-day is,
probably, the last of my present sojourn in a neighbourhood where I have
passed so many happy hours; and I cannot help reflecting on the
important changes which may take place in the destiny of this empire
before I visit its capital again, in case it should ever be my good
fortune to return. Who can at present decide whether the white-haired
Russian or the cunning Egyptian, the subtle Greek or the ambitious Gaul,
shall be the future monarch of the Queen of cities, and occupy the
throne of the Caesars and the Prophet? Yet, come what may, her glory can
suffer but a temporary eclipse; for, independently of the vast political
advantages of her position, the beauty of her capacious harbour, which,
from the earliest period, has been crowded with the rich navies of the
East and West, and which acquired from that circumstance the appellation
of the Golden Horn, points out Constantinople as the mistress of a great
empire. "The genius of the place will ever triumph over the accidents of
time and fortune."
[Sidenote: ARMENIAN PAINTER.] Having bidden farewell to the officers of
the Actaeon (the best and worthiest set of fellows whom I ever had the
happiness of knowing), and taken leave at the embassy[18], I glided away
on the rapid current; and soon Terapia[19], "the abode of health," was
entirely lost to the view. After seeing my baggage safely deposited on
board the Francesco, I hastened into Stamboul to take leave of Mustapha;
and having given the worthy old Turk a hearty shake of the hand, I
returned to Pera. The old Armenian, who paints the costumes of the Turks
in water-colours, was there in waiting for me; and after disburthening
him of all his collection, I copied the portrait of a Georgian slave,
which he had in his possession. She was another rare specimen of Eastern
loveliness. The evening was finished at Cartwright's, where we took a
"doch'an doras," and bade farewell to that honest warm-hearted jovial
fellow.
[Sidenote: POETICAL DESCRIPTION.] _Sunday, 23d._--At 8 o'clock all were
on board; and the Prince having done us the honour to be punctual, in
one hour afterwards the anchor was up, the steam on, and away we went
round the Seraglio Point; leaving the
"Queen of the morn! Sultana of the East!
City of wonders, on whose sparkling breast
Fair, slight and tall, a thousand palaces
Fling their gay shadows over golden seas!
Where towers and domes bestud the gorgeous land,
And countless masts a mimic forest stand;
Where cypress shades; the minarets snowy hue,
And gleams of gold dissolve on skies of blue;
Daughter of Eastern art! the most divine,
Lovely, yet faithless bride of Constantine:
Fair Istamboul, whose tranquil mirror flings,
Back with delight thy thousand colourings;
And who no equal in the world dost know
Save thy own image, pictured thus below!
Dazzled--amazed--our eyes, half-blinded, fail,
While sweeps the phantasm past our gliding sail.
Like as in festive scene, some sudden light
Rises in clouds of stars upon the sight.
Struck with a splendour never seen before,
Drunk with the perfumes wafted from the shore;
Approaching near these peopled groves we deem
That from enchantment rose the gorgeous dream.
Day without voice;--and motion without sound;
Silently beautiful! this haunted ground
Is paved with roofs beyond the bounds of sight,
Countless and colour'd; wrapp'd in golden light!
'Mid groves of cypress, measureless and vast,
In thousand forms of crescents, circles, cast,
Gold glitters; spangling all the wide extent,
And flashes back to Heaven the rays it sent.
Gardens and domes--bazars, begem the woods--
Seraglio, harems, peopled solitudes,
Where the veil'd idol kneels; and vistas through
Barr'd lattices, that give th' enamoured view;
Flowers, orange-trees--and waters sparkling near.
And black and lovely eyes, alas! that fear
At those heaven-gates dark sentinels should stand
To scare even fancy from her promised land."[20]
I long'd to see the isles that gem
Old Ocean's purple diadem.
I sought by turns--and saw them.
The Seraglio and its dark groves; the gilded domes and their snowy,
arrow-like minarets; the Seven Towers, with their fancy-pictured
terrors, fade gradually from my sight, as the steam-boat rapidly ploughs
the glassy wave. The eye, straining itself for a last glimpse of the
beautiful city, beholds it resting, like a phantom, on the indistinct
verge where heaven and the waters meet, until it sinks into the bosom of
the unruffled ocean.
[Sidenote: MY FELLOW PASSENGERS.] What a motley crew! A royal prince;
Spanish nobles; Italian counts; French marquises; Dutch chevaliers; and,
I may proudly add, English gentlemen. We had also a quack doctor from
Paris; a gaming-house-keeper from Milan; a clergyman, poor as an
Apostle, from Iceland; a grim-looking student from the University of
Goettingen; a Danish baron, music-mad; a singing count from Sienna; a
crazy architect from Paris; and two Russian noblemen. There were only
two ladies;--a Russian countess, who read nothing but Homer, and made
classical mistakes; and a Bavarian lady, whose great merit was her
inclination to render herself agreeable. Then there were the chief
captain, the second captain, and the sub-captain; the manager, second
manager, and sub-manager. However, two things most necessary to the
establishment were still wanting; namely, a good cook, and an honest
steward.
[Sidenote: MARBLE QUARRIES.] The vessel carried a Neapolitan pennant,
and was armed with six brass cannon, a very sufficient stand of
small-arms, and a forest of boarding-pikes; in case we should be
attacked by any of the pirates infesting the Greek Archipelago. An
awning was spread over its spacious deck, under which we lived like a
swarm of flies, fifty in number, feeding on detestable provender, and
sleeping in beds remarkable for uncleanness and their innumerable
parasitical tenants. The place marked on our route to be first visited
was that part of the Island of Marmora containing the quarries which
have supplied Constantinople with building materials from time
immemorial; but in reference to the precise spot where they were to be
found, there were as many opinions as voices. The truth was plain, no
one knew; neither captains, managers, pilots (of whom there were two),
nor tourists; and in the midst of our Babylonish discussion, the boat
arrived off the town of Marmora; and, of course, on the wrong side of
the island for our purpose. Some insisted on returning; others were for
crossing the isle on mules, or, if these could not be procured, on
foot: but the majority, of which I was one, seemed satisfied with
staying where fortune and steam had brought them. When the quarryites
landed, they found it would take fourteen hours to visit their _lion_,
and, as luck would have it, twelve hours only were marked on the
itinerary as the period allowed for the passengers to remain at the
island. Backed by this powerful argument, we the anti-quarryites demanded
a ballot, and an overwhelming majority decided that the boat should
start at midnight.
[Sidenote: GREEK DEPUTATION.] Soon after the return of the passengers
who had landed, a deputation of the inhabitants, consisting of the papa,
or chief priest, with some of his brethren, as well as the civil
authorities, all Greeks, came on board to compliment the brother of
their King. As the Prince did not understand one word of their language,
he begged Madame Manochini (the owner of a lodging-house at Smyrna, who
had been treated to a passage to Stamboul and back) to be his
interpretress. After thanking them in his name, she enquired if they had
any daughters?
"Certainly."
"Are they pretty?"
Each father expatiated on the superior beauty of his own child; and the
papa added that his was angelic,--"[Greek: Kale kale]." "Then,"
continued Madame, "I am desired to say, the Prince is very much obliged
to you for your visit, and requests that you will immediately send the
prettiest maiden of the whole to bear him company on board." Perfectly
thunderstruck at this extraordinary address, the papa and his brethren
looked first at each other, then at Madame and the Prince; and, making a
hurried bow to the German Pasha, they jostled one another down the
ladder, and into their boat, with a rapidity that amused as well as
surprised us all; for, at the time, we were unacquainted with the nature
of this audacious reply. They probably took him for a _vardoulacha_, or
vampire, and thought to themselves, "If this Prince is such a curiosity,
what must little Otho be!"
Well, of course his Royal Highness demanded the meaning of their abrupt
and sudden flight, and wished to know what Madame had said to scare the
holy fathers thus? "Was the reply complimentary? if so, it had produced
a most extraordinary effect: they could not be pleased, that was
evident."
"Oh yes," answered she, with a satirical smile; "I said you were
delighted to see them, and that, knowing they had plenty of handsome
daughters, you desired them to send the prettiest on board to bear your
Highness company."
His Highness looked somewhat foolish: he did not know what to say; and
appeared little less chagrined himself, than the Greek papas of the Isle
of Marmora. We afterwards understood that the Prince had made some
reductions in her bill while he occupied her house at Smyrna; and, by
way of retaliation, she thus insolently attempted to injure his
character among her countrymen; and, I have no doubt, completely
succeeded, as far as the Greeks of this island are concerned.
[Sidenote: PLEASANT DORMITORY.] _Monday, 24th._--Myself and four
companions in misery have passed a horrible night in a cabin worse than
the Black Hole of Calcutta. The offensive odour from the chicken-coop,
which stands just at the side of the only aperture where fresh air can
find an entrance; the heat of the confined chamber; the myriads of
insects, that devoured my body with ravenous appetite, after having
endured a fortnight's starvation; kept me in such a fever, that I vowed
never to enter the cabin again. [Sidenote: EXTRAORDINARY
TRANSFORMATION.] When I looked out, my fellow-passengers burst into a
laugh; and Barrow, taking an observation, as my phiz came to the
meridian above them, exclaimed, "Who has been painting your face? it is
as yellow as a canary-bird!" "Nonsense!" I exclaimed; and, jumping upon
deck, I seized my glass, and saw myself indeed as yellow as our good
King's face on a sovereign. Not my face only, but, by all that's
startling! hands, arms, legs, body, were in the same condition, as
though I had been plunged into a curry-pot. I beheld myself with
jaundiced eyes! It was wholly inexplicable; for I had not suffered a
moment's illness, since I arrived in Stamboul; neither have I felt any
symptoms of approaching disease; yet, in one night, my skin has been
gilded over like a counterfeit sovereign,--
"Suffering a _yellow_ change
Into something rich and strange."
Nevertheless, I am afraid, unlike the false coinage, the gilt will not
very easily rub off. On my first appearance, I observed the French
doctor, who seemed to possess a hawk's eye for business, vanish from the
quarter deck, and descend hastily below; in a few minutes he reappeared,
bearing in his hand an ample supply of his _rob_; but I declined his
services, as a medical officer from Corfu undertook to give me the
necessary advice. We had also an English physician, and the Prince's
body-surgeon.
[Sidenote: BRITISH FLEET.] At the Dardanelles we learned the very
interesting news that the English fleet had arrived in Basike Bay; and
in swinging round "old Sigaeum," we beheld the Admiral's ship at anchor,
and several other large vessels sailing towards the harbour. At mid-day
we were alongside the Britannia; and a boat came off from her, to ask
intelligence from Constantinople. As I was anxious to renew my
acquaintance with Sir Pulteney Malcolm, and as many of the passengers
wished to see the ship, the boat took as many as could get into her, and
in a few minutes we stood on the deck of the largest of those majestic
floating castles which, I trust, are destined, ere long, to teach the
Russian that all "Old England's wooden walls" have not got the dry rot
in them. It is some years since I had the pleasure of seeing the Admiral
before; and though the march of time has imprinted on his noble figure a
few slight traces of its progress, yet he appears to be as active,
enterprising, and determined as ever. He accompanied us over the ship;
and was very anxious that we should inspect his improved kitchen,
cattle-pen, and newly invented gun-screws for elevating the breech of
the cannon. After a hearty luncheon, during which I forgot all my
jaundice, we took leave, and on entering the Captain's gig the Francesco
hoisted the British colours, and saluted. The compliment was
immediately returned, and the thunder of the cannon re-echoed from
Tenedos, and spread itself over the Plain of Troy, with a report loud
enough to rouse Achilles, Ajax, and Hector, from their graves,--
"That with the hurly, death itself might wake."
It was a beautiful, no less than a proud and gratifying sight to behold
the Malabar, the St. Vincent, and the Alfred, all sailing in with every
stitch of canvass set; telegraphing the Britannia, and with the utmost
precision taking up their positions as the Admiral announced them. At
that moment there could not have been a soul on board the Francesco who
did not acknowledge the superiority of Britain on the seas.
[Sidenote: GULF OF SMYRNA.] Passing Mitylene and the opposite ruins of
Assos, we entered the Gulf of Smyrna as it was growing dark. As I was by
no means comfortable from a slight fever which enervated me, I
determined to sleep below no longer, and therefore brought my mattress
on deck. I laid it out near the cabin skylight, and there courted sleep,
rolled in my _Greco_. Thank Heaven and a clear sky for most delicious
repose!
Towards morning, I was awakened by a sensation of damp and cold; and
found myself and mattress soaking wet, and exhaling the odour of
rose-water. I found that a stream of this rich perfume had inundated me;
it was flowing from a large jar belonging to one of the passengers,
which, standing too near the tiller of the helm, had been broken by it
during the night.