different from their own has ever been a characteristic of the Oriental
nations, and is illustrative of a passage in the New Testament, which I
have not seen explained by any of the commentators: I mean the
expression of our Saviour, where he denounces the votaries of avarice,
by declaring that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
For a long time previous to Christ's appearance, it had been usual for
the "Sons of Ishmael," or pagan Arabs of Asia Minor, to make hostile
incursions into the provincial towns of Judea, and riding their
dromedaries into the synagogues, to desecrate the altar in the manner
here ascribed to the Turks. In order to put a stop to these enormities,
the Jews hit upon the expedient of constructing the doors of their
churches so low, that an ordinary-sized man could only enter by
stooping; and thus they completely foiled their persecutors, for the
disinclination of the Arabs to dismount, even on the most pressing
occasions, is well known to such as have travelled among these sons of
the Desert. In the hyperbolical phraseology of the East, these
diminished apertures were compared to the eye of a needle; and the
impossibility of a camel making his way through them, became at length a
proverbial expression for any impracticable undertaking.
THE END.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] As we sailed through the strait formed by it and the
mainland,--and a very beautiful scene it affords,--I was
informed by those on board, that a shoal is marked down upon
the ship's chart as being in the centre. Having never before
heard the slightest allusion to this fact, I intend to
ascertain its accuracy, by actual inspection, at some more
favourable opportunity.
[2] "The ridge of the Somma forms a semicircle, the curve of
which lies north-east, its two extremities stretching out
south-east. The front, which faces the south-west and the
cone of Vesuvius, is almost perpendicular; but the side
towards the north is a sloping plain, cut lengthwise by deep
ravines, and covered with vineyards, except a few hundred
feet near the summit, which are clothed with small chestnut
and oak trees."--_Sketches of Vesuvius_, p. 2.
[3] Wingless Victory.
[4] "About 170 yards distant from the warm springs of the
Scamander, towards the west, the cold sources are found,
throwing out a considerable quantity of water from many
openings in the rock. It has been discovered, by the help of
a thermometer, which was thrust into a fissure as far as the
arm would permit it to go, that this spring is equally warm
with the former. The pool, however, which contains the water
being of so considerable a size as to suffer it immediately
to acquire the temperature of the atmosphere, it must
undoubtedly have appeared cold before the invention of an
instrument for ascertaining the real degree of heat. It
would, therefore, have been thought cold in the days of
Homer; and the poet is not incorrect who describes places
and things as they appear to the generality of mankind.
Several other sources contribute to swell this division of
the stream of the Scamander before its junction with the
rivulets which proceeds from the warm springs."--_Sir W.
Gell's Topography of Troy_, p. 76.
[5] "The women of Bounarbashi yet frequent the spring, as
their predecessors, the Trojan virgins, did before the
invasion by the Greeks. The convenience afforded by the
blocks of marble and granite to the women of the country,
who always beat their linen on stones or boards during the
time they are washing, added to the sensible warmth of the
water, has, in all probability, continued the practice of
resorting to this spring in preference to any other. The
Count de Choiseul Gouffier was informed by the Aga of
Bounarbashi, that the water threw up a very perceptible
steam in the winter; and later experiments, made with the
thermometer, prove beyond doubt that this is a warm
source."--_Ibid._
[6] There, on the green and village cotted hill, is
(Flank'd by the Hellespont, and by the sea,)
Entombed the bravest of the brave--Achilles,--
They say so--(Bryant says the contrary);
And further downward, tall and towering still, is
The tumulus--of whom? Heaven knows: 't may be
Patroclus, Ajax, or Protesilaus,--
All heroes, who, if living still, would slay us.
[7] Celebrated in history as being the place where the
crusaders, under Godfrey of Bulloigne, were encamped.
[8] These pretty diminutive coins are called _dust_ by the
common people; a name not at all inapplicable, as in size
they resemble the following mark [Symbol: circle], and are
thin as a gum wafer. A handful of them scarcely equals a
shilling in value.
[9] _Balouk_, a fish in Turkish.
[10] Infidel.
[11] All Saints.
[12] Similar changes have been produced in other parts of
the East. "An extraordinary revolution," says Mr. St. John,
"has been effected since the year 1817, when the Christian,
according to a former traveller, was turned away with insult
from the Castle (the Pharos); for now a Christian, having
examined at his leisure the military portion of the
structure, entered into the mosque in his boots, under the
guidance of a Turkish officer."--_Egypt and Mohammed Ali_,
vol. ii. p. 386.
[13] Cannon foundry: from _top_, the Turkish word for a
cannon, and _hana_, a manufactory.
[14] In Turkish, the Prophet is styled Peigshamber: the
French, whose vanity induces them to alter and vilify every
proper name not derived from their own language, persist in
spelling it _Pegchamber_: this, however, seems so ludicrous,
when we consider the exalted rank of the individual to whom
it is applied, that the reader will exclaim involuntarily
with Hamlet,--"To what vile uses may we not come, Horatio!"
[15] Since the above was written, he has returned to London
as ambassador from the Porte.
[16] This mode of executing criminals seems peculiar to the
East, and is partly explained by the word itself. The
Turkish bowstring, which is amazingly strong, is formed of
untwisted silk, generally white, bound together at intervals
by threads of a different colour. At either end is a large
loop attached to the centre portion of the cord, by a very
curious and intricate knot: the executioners slip their
hands through this, and having passed the string once round
the victim's neck, who was placed on his knees, they drew it
in opposite directions with all their force, and thus
produced death by strangulation. Since the gradual decline
of archery among the Turks, the bowstring has also been
falling into disuse; for the original cause of its being
adopted as an instrument of criminal punishment was the
readiness with which it could be procured, when every man
carried at his shoulder the weapon of which it formed a
part.
[17] _At_, a horse; and _Meidan_, a course.
[18] I cannot bid adieu to Lord Ponsonby and his amiable
family, without acknowledging how much the pleasure derived
from my voyage and visit to Constantinople was enhanced by
their unceasing kindness. Indeed, from the first moment I
became acquainted with his Lordship in Naples, he has
uniformly treated me with a degree of affability as
flattering to me as it was kind in him; besides honouring
me, up to the present moment, with a confidence which, in
general, is the result only of long tried and intimate
friendship. This is the more gratifying, because he has
always been surrounded by young men in every respect as
worthy of the same distinction as myself.
[19] I ought to have mentioned before, that Terapia is a
village some miles distant from Constantinople.
[20] Foreign Quarterly Review.
[21] Vignette in title-page.
[22] Duchess of Berri.
[23] St. John's Egypt.
LONDON:
Printed by A. SPOTTISWOODE,
New-Street-Square.
+----------------------------------------+
| Spellings of the Turkish words |
| |
| [Transcriber's note: The question |
| marks in the TURKISH SPELLING column |
| represent characters not included in |
| the ASCII or iso-8859-1 (Latin1) |
| character sets.] |
| |
| SPELLED IN THE BOOK TURKISH SPELLING |
| |
| Altintash Alt?nta? |
| |
| Balouk Bal?k |
| |
| Bounarbashi P?narba?? |
| |
| Buyukdere Buyukdere |
| |
| caique kay?k |
| |
| Kutahieh Kutahya |
| |
| caimac kaymak |
| |
| erraba araba |
| |
| Dolma Batche Dolmabahce |
| |
| ferridge ferace |
| |
| gashmak ya?mak |
| |
| hummum hamam |
| |
| Jeddi Cale Yedi Kule |
| |
| Keathane Ka??thane |
| |
| mahalabe mahallebi |
| |
| narghile nargile |
| |
| SOLIMANIE SULEYMAN?YE |
| |
| Seraskier Serasker |
| |
| Sultanee Sultani |
| |
| Tchernberle Tash Cemberli Ta? |
| |
| Valide Valide |
| |
+----------------------------------------+