Roumania (The Border Land of The Christian & The Turk)

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Roumania : the border land of the Christian and the Turk : comprising

adventures of travel in eastern Europe and western Asia / by James O.


Noyes.

Contributors
Noyes, James Oscar, 1829-1872.
Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine

Publication/Creation
New York : Rudd & Carleton, 1858.

Persistent URL
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/egapu7pc

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Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of
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Wellcome Collection
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https://wellcomecollection.org
P'JRCHI!ISED FRQfo\ THE INec?fo\E C?F THE

OLIVER F. (J)t!lDS(J)9RTH F~ND


""Tille "~'n '" UKaU •.,--. •
ROD MAN IA:

llorbrr raub nf Ibr ~bri5tinn nub Ibr (ltnrlt,

""noa.UfO . """"",UIa \I' TunL I .

EASTERN EUROPE AND WESTERN ASIA•

.. {J.--
JAMES O. NOYES, M.D.,
1. . . 0 _ '" .... _ .... .... y .

NEW YORK :
Runn &- C ARLETON, 3 ) 0 BROADWAY
lIt.DCCC. LVIII.
~28

HUDD '" CARLETON,

ID tbe C1ert'. Olllee of tbe Dr.lfIet Courtofthe Uult.! Statel for the SMtben
D1tl11d ofB_ York.

L ,"u,a..uD, ~.',.,.n ~"" " " _ " ...


c.",," U~IllI'"I.
Ill, 88. "",, IIri 00;0,,, &~ ___
ro

WESLEY SMEAD, ESQ.,

or C1NCINN.l.TI, OHIO,

18 R EIIPECT~'ULLY DEDICATED

au I'Rllt"D 4)11) TRAVILLIIiO COlU',I,lfJO.

lJI TU OJDllT.
PREFACE.

IN the second year of the late Russo-Turkish war, the

anthor undertook the journey of which this volume is the


result. His object has been to give a truthful picture of the
everyday life of the people among whom he travelled, espe-

cially the poetical nations of the Lower Danube. whose names


are scarcely known to American readers. What relates to
humanity conccrns us all, snd to know the beliefs snd sentiments
of our fellow-beings, to learn with what songs, traditions sud

pastimes they amuse each other, interests us more than the dry

details of governments, or the more impressions of the passing

traveller.
In the preparation of the work, he bas derived much his-
torical infonnation from L' Urnverl, by M. Chopin and M. A.
Ubicini i La Hongrie HiBt&riqtu, edited by Le Brnn; and the
admirable volumes of Robert and Vaillant.
J. O. N.
NK'Ir You &pkmbtr 1, 161'>7.
CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.-Hungary, • 1

CHAPTER II._LirQ in Servia, • 42


CHAPTER III.-La Porte de Fer, .
CHAPTER IV.-Steaming down the later, 69

CRAPl'ER V.-Low J,ire among the Dftoo-ltomanB,

CHAPTER VL-City Plagues and Land Plagu~


"
· 120
CHAPTER VII.-The Daco-Romans, · 139
CHAPTER VIII._The Gtook Cbutcb, • 182
CIIA.'PTER TX.-A Night Rido in Roumrmia, · 199
CHAPl'ER X.-8ilisttill, • 240
OIIAPTER XI._Ramblea in Bulgaria, • • 2G'J
OIIAPTER KII.-Turkish Traditions,
CHAPTER XIII.- Life in Bulgari!l,
· '"
• S31
CHAPTER XIV._ TbQ Eunne and thG BoIIpborm, • • 335

CHAPTER XV.-8tamboul, . • 378


CHAPTER XVL-Tbe Walla of Constantinople, • 403
CHAPTER XVll._Asia,
· '"
CHAPTER XVIII.-IBlam,
CDAPI'ER XIX._llmmllmans and Non·)lI18lllTmADt, ...
• 468

·
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

I. G OTH IC R UINS IN Zi.IoIBU, Frontilrpiece.


... .. ..... . ....... ...... ...... .
2. T lIEBEN "
......• •. ..•........ .... .. ... ... "
3. VISEGRAD "
of. AKcn:xT J.AtTGllS, .................... , . . •".... .... ...... 60 "
5. LtllEL AND illS lTORlf,....... . ••••• .• • . •.•• . . •••.• . . • . .•• 82
6. CASTLE or AR\·A, .••••••••••••••.•••••. " •.••..••••• ••• •• 104
7. TR.\J,\X'S TABLET,_ ••••.••••••••••••••••••..••••.•• • •••••• 1~
S. TOWER or SEvEmxus, ............... . .......... ....... ... 148
9. GENO£S£ CASTLE OF GIURGE\"o, •••••••••••••••••••••••• •• • 170
10. Oll" TUE STEPPE, ••••••••...•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 192
It . PO$TJ:<G Il>I' W ALLAcnu, . •••..••. : ••.• .• ••...•..••••..•.• 192
12. W AL!.AcnlA.!" NOvlcE, • •• •••.•••.•.••• _, •• ... ... . .•••.•.•• 2111
13. K.lIA~ or MA~OUK DEy, ............•.................... 236
14. HOSPITAL 01" COLTSA, .................................... 2:;8
15. HlGu LIFE I~ ROU)!:Al"'A, ................................ 281
16. Low LI FE IS ROUlIAI!lA, .. , ............ ", .. , ..... ...... . 302
17. GIPSY ESCAKPlIE~T, ..................................... 324
18. A1lClSCU, ............................................... 843
19. MALE DJI(x)oRollAS9, ........•.•..•.......••..••••••••••• 368
20. FE)!:ALE DA(:O-RollAS9, ..................... .............. 390
2 1. EccLESIASTICAL CoeTmn; .................. ........... ... 412
22. SHOEING A:i Ox, ........................................ 412
23. MO~ASTEII.Y OF NU)fZO' ....... .. ................ ...... .. . 434
24. T1lAVELLUI'G BY CARUTZA IS WALLAeIlU, • .. .•. . • • ••• ••• • • 456
25. Town or OVID, .................................... ". 478
26. lIrrn.IOB or A TuuISB MOSQUE, .... . ..... . . ..... , ... 600

RO D N J A. d

CH APTER 1.

IIUNQAUY.

"I stood among thorn, but Dot of them."

O f'T'EN, dllring a long rcsi(lcncc in Vienna, I ascended


n loft.y mOllntain Ilenr the city, to dine in the room
where M OZ:11't canght his fin('st inspirafions, and enjoy
an evening prospect second to 1l0lle ill the world. }'a!'
beneath my feet rolled the tlll'bid \\"aters of the" Father
of E uropean ri vcl's." Beiorc me were walled cities, fIlld
battle-fields, and green islands smili ng lip f!'Om the broad
D anllbius, with all the works of mell. To the westward
towered the Austrian Alps, their glacier crowns tipped
with opal and gold. H ow the tranquil I'h'Cl"S of light
appeared to flow away to the gates of Sllllset ! There,
looking into the purple distance eastwal'd of Agram,
Eesling and Sorano, I resolved to visit that myste-
rions Oricn t whose glowing portals seemed to opcn
just bcyond.
Months vusscd, and the time camc for mc to ex-
t


2

change the scalpel [01' ,he staff of the tra\OcJlcl". It


was the loveliest mOl'llillg that ever smi led upon tltc
D anubian plain when we embarked on board the little
stcamClO that was to convey us to the "Franz Joseph,"
moored in the main stream below. The /Indent Ro·
mails were carefnl to found Vinc!ouonfl, the gen u of
the present Vicllna, upon an ann of the Danube, in
order to secure it from tIle innnd:ttiOllS caused by tIle

sudden melting of the Alpine snows.
One does not forget the home of his youth, ~Uld as I
was about to begin a jOlll'llcy to the distunt Orient, I
could not hel p tUrTling a longing look toward my native
land. Excepting the place of my birth, I non;]' left a
city with so milch regret as Vicnna. Among stran-
gers who spoke II diffen;nt lnngunge and possessed so-
cial and political i(leas diftbrent from my own, I had
made mallyfriend.;; \rllOse memory shall endure. At
parting they gave me a warm German cmbrace. Even
the chief of the police, npoll whose imagined pCl'Seen-
tions American travellers have wasted reams of paper,
shook my hand kindly, and wished me a happy journey
and a safe l·etnrn to my fathel·land.
Gradually the lofty spire of St. Stcphen's Cathed ral
san k in the distance. 'Ve soon passed the island of
Loban, wherc N apo]con's army was confincd three
months before the brilliant victory of 'Vagram jll
which he rontcd the Anstrians undcr the Archduke
Charles. At,Simiring, a small tOW I! on the right bunk,
H UNGARY . 3

almost concealed by th ick forests , Solyman the lIfagni-


fiee nt pitehecl his teut during the Turkish invasion;
and nt Schwachat, J..eopold of Austria met J ohn So-
b iesky, after the latter had ronted the hosts of black
Mustapha Iwcl saved the empire.
" H ow shall I receive Sobiesky 1" asked the empe-
ror of the D uk e of LOl·mine.
"With open 11l1TIS," replied the duke.
" Am I not an emperor, and J ohn merely a king
elect? "
Leopold condescended to gh·e his deliyerer a cold
embrace; the interyiew lasted hut few moments. Aus-
tria afte rwards manifested her gratitude by participat-
ing with R l1ssia nnd Prussia in the division of P olnncl .
Before reaching the H ungarian frOlltier we p nssed
P etronell , once destroyed by Attila but now contain-
iug a fine castle, near which may be seeu the r uins of
an ancient triumphal arch built by Augustus to com-
memorate the Conquest of H ungary .
As we adnmce beyond the broad plnin fringing the
Danube with dark forests and marsh-lands, the scenery
grows in interest eve]'y moment.. 'There arc vineyards
and plots of wayy grain, yalleys opening among the
hills afford, now and tllCll, beautiful yistas of distant
fiel ds and villnges, while ernmbling castles and Roman-
esque ruills impnrt their historic chann.
An immense rock, rising fro m the bosom of the
great ri ver, is crowned at its summit with the rnills of

an old thateau. This is Theben, situated at a point
where the ri\"cr is hemmed in between two mountain
chains, and overlooking the noble Danube as it sweeps
majestically into IIungary, just as the Iron Gate, be-
tween the Cm"patllians and the Balkans, guards its exit
from the great plains of Ccntrnl Europe.
In 1809 the French, under Napoleon, took posses-
sion of Thcbcn, and left it n solitary pile of ruins. Tho
castle is said to IU1\"o been built in honor of a goddess,
llamed Dcwinn, but in the language of the country is
called uThe Virgin's Tower." ..A YOllng cavalier, ena-
mored of n. pretty nun in a neighboring convent,
found means to escape with her. In order to protect
his bride against the l)crsccntions of the Church, en-
raged at this sacri iegiolls- act, he took refuge with her
in the ancient enstle of Theben, resolved to defend him-
self to the last extremity. Unable to take the well-
guarded fortress by assault, they determined to reduce
it by famine . Then the cavalier and his bride, unable
to escape, resolved t.o die togetllcr. :M()unting to the
summit of the tower, they threw thelnseh'es, in each
other's arms, into the black and angry flood of the
Danube far below.
'Ve soon reached Presburg, formerly the capital of
TIu ngluy, where the kings were crowned and the Diet
assembled once in three years to consult on national
affairs. A hridbrc of boats connects the opposite banks
of the riYcr.
llt:XG.H-:L 5

Before the re\"olution the most promising youllg as-


pirants of the king<]om were accllstomed 10 go up to
Presburg to r.ttend the sessions of the Diet, and from
mingling witlt the magnates and deputies, obtained a
kind of political education which contributed greatly
to that urbani ty and elegancc of manners so character-
istic of the old IIungadan nobles. The proceedings of
the Diet, whcn in session, were vcry similar to tho;;e
of our two H ouses, but such is the love of the Magyar
for music and the dance, that during the long yaeations
the Director was accustomed to tuke the place of the
T'alatine, Ulld the walls to echo to T erpsichorean strains
instead of the fiCl"y elocution of the Hungarian Depu-
ties" The royal palace, in which Maria Theresa met
the IIllllgariall magnates to be deli \'ered by them from
her enemies, is now little better than a pile of ruins.
1110 IIllllgarian kings were formerly crowned in this
edifice, after which ceremony they rode to an eminence
in the vicinity, aod making the sign of the cross in the
four cardinal directions, swore to defend the kingdom
against nil its enemies. Magnificent times, those COl'(}-
nations, wilen the magnates of the land came up to at-
tend the royal feasts, attired in their splendid natiOIl:ll
costume, of which that of the HtlSsar$ is but a faillt
im.itation! Presburg contains fewer inhabitants than
it did six years ago. Although in Hungal'y, it is too
Ilear Vienna, too completely Germani8ed and alien-
ated from the affection of the Magy.ars) to become a
G I:OUlIA:iI:\.

ci ty of grout illl}Xlrtnllce fo r lllallY jean:; to comc.


I t exhibits 1\0i11101' life Ilor activit".
"
BcyolHl l:'l'csburg, the Dannbc, di v id ing into several
streams, flo,,'s across an immellse plain, extending to
Gran. Fifty miles below is Ct1ntom, the scat of a fo r-
tress never yet taken by an enemy. At the time of my
visit, it had by no means rcco\'crcd from the inj uries
suffered ill 184-0. Gorgey defeated the Austrians at
Comonl, and having liberated the city, marched back
to Buda-P estll, to gi,-c the enemy a severo blow be-
fo re his treachery at Vilagos.
Gran is the residence of the Archbishop of JInn-
gary, whose income was fonner!y more than $200,000
per annum. I remained there bllt a short ti me, yet
long enough to learn much concerning the Catholic
instihltions of Hungary_ The Cathedral is It modem
edifice, imposing, bnt far less interesting than those
grand old Gothic churches bui lt in the middle ages.
At Zambck there is one of the noblest, now in ru ins.
I am fond of lingering for honrs in these old ClltllOlic
churches, gorgeous with pictorial and statnesqne trca·
surcs. In Vienna, it was my sllpreme delight, with
Faust or Alamontade in hand, to while away the sultry
hours in some sequestered corner of the grey-worn Ca·
thedral of St. Stephen. There were soft pnintings,
which had grown into things of bcnllty under the cun·
ning hand toiling to realize the idcnl j 1110 marble
alJgeis seemed poise(1for aseerding M descending 8igbt,
nt:;';OAltY. 7

And the Mndonnns lookeu so beautiful, that I ween tlle


silent worshipper often forgets his prayer before those
altan;.
Though I love the simplicity of the Protestant faith,
I do not envy that man's sensibility who can enter oue
of these old cathedrals without hU\'ing his feelings sub-
dued, and his heart affected. The long aislcs and
many-pillared arches j the staincd windows, ornate with
scriptuml scenes and characters, the soft shadows of
which an evening SUIl casts upon the pavement; the
crncifixes :mel images of saints; tllC burning of incense,
and the 80ft musie and low responses of thousands of
suppliant worshippcl"$, may make the cold skeptic lallgh,
b ut with me they are solemn to look upon, and never
to be forgotten.
A certain degree of equality is inculcated in the
wOI'Ship of the Catholic Church, to which, in myopi-
nion, that institution owes not a little of its infl uence,
and much of its perpetuity. I n thc cathedral, the pea-
sant kneels by the side of the prince, and the pOOl'
apple-woman whispers her pater nf)$in' at the same
sluine with velvet-robed beauty. The white-glovecl
officer puts off his haughty air wllCn his sword rattles
on the pavement of a holy place, and patrician pride is
humbled when it crosses the threshold. This is one of
the reasons why the Catholic Church maintains an ab-
I!()lllte control over millions of subjects. :Mol'cover,
Rome ill\lstrates the idea of the Church UniversaL
8 l WL"lLt~L\ .

Sbe hoasts of an intimate connection with that vast


spiritual broth erhood which has existed in aU times
and in all lands. She has embalmed the memory of
the good and great of all ages, has enshrined the an-
cient chival ry of the fai th, and rea.lizes to her believing
children, in a literature of legends and prayers, lively
and beatified pictures of the saintliest virtues, com-
bined with the most heroic dceds.*
Another reason, and one that I can fnlly compre-
hend in Austria, lies in the richness of their holy places
and their antiquity. The inhabitants of the Catholic
countries of Europe have not the migratory character
that belongs to the Anglo-Saxon racc. The ancestors
of the thousands who attend mass at the Cathedral of
8t. Stephen have worshippcd there for centuries. They,
too, have so often k nelt before those gilded shrines, and
so often put up their prayers to the life-like images,
that both have become to them doubly sacred.
W ith her solidarities of antiquity and her surround-
ings of pomp and show, the Church of Rome is revered
al ike by the intelligent and the unlearned-alike by
the courted h ero and the obscure orphan-girl,

" For de profund~ blessed her fathcr'a grave,


That idol cross hcr dying mother gave."

In Austria I have frequently observed people going


almost directly from the church to the opera., or the

• Channing.
J[CXGA\(Y. 9

plRY, '}1H,lre is, after all, nothing unnatural in this, f(ll'


there the cathedral and the theatre differ in l'eality bnt
l ittle from each (lther. The magnificent Gothic archi-
tecture, the gilded shrines, the profusion of imnges and
pictures, the moving of solemn p rocessions, the dress
and genu fle xions of the p riests-are very like the ever-
shifting scones and ohanging characters that belong to
the stage.
It is not a little amnsing to exa mi ne the Yotivo offer-
ings suspended before Catholic shrines. H ere are hung
up mi niature silver legs and arms, typical of hmnan ex-
t remities relieved of lll xations 01' fractu res by celestial
surgery, and models of ngly t umors removed withollt the
aid of carnal instru ments; there ]]lay be seep ta.Ueaua':
representing dise:u;ed spinal columns straightened by
the interposit ion of a saint, and foYers, devils, and the
like, exorcised by a simple sign of the cross-all mo-
dern miracles---cm'es witnessed by the eye of fa ith .
When Diagoras, the philosopher, visited the Sarno-
thraciaus, and saw the numerous pictu res hung up in
their temple as votive offeri ngs for preservation from
shipwreck, h e nn'ively inqnired, " 'Vhere are the por-
traits of those who have been drowned i" I ha\'e in
l ike manner sometimes asked for the models of legs and
arms not cured, bnt was soon made to understand that
I was venturing on fo rbidden ground.
Such is the exterior which the Church of Rome pre-
sents, but t here is (lne great fact in her history which
l'
10

must not b('. lost sight of-which arises from th e nature


of the ins ~ ituti ol\ itself. So long us the Catholic Church
acts upon indi\'iduals alone, she gains strength and in·
fllle nee, but ill her bosom rankles all insatiable ambi-
tion, an unconquerabl e love of l)owo r, that will 110 more
let her rest contented with her present acquircmcllts
than the victim can fest quietly to whose fl esh is ap-
plied the red-hot iron of torture. Thus, leaguing her-
self with tyrants, she is goaded {Ill to strivillb'S after
power and deeds of open violence, when lo! the charm is
lost, and the structure raised lip by years of patient labor
sinks to the ground in a moment. There is no stronger
revolutionary clement in Europe than the ambition of
the J esuits, and lust llnd prid~ of pow~r nre has-
tening hel' fall faster c"cn than Protcstantism itself.
The Church of Romc cun no longer dictate to princes
and kings-she can only keep her h ead abo,·c the waves
of revolutioll by cl inging with the g rasp of death to the
bayonets of temporal power.
In nungary the Catholic clergy Ju\Ve immense power,
which is em})loyed to persecute the Protestant secf",
rather than ameliorate the condi lion of the people.
Unfortunate is the person wh06e calise cannot be plead
before the GovernllLent by a priest. This is the Nine-
teenth Century, and there ure 2,000,000 Protestants in
TIungary!
The Orient is the land of pilgrimages. I t is there
that one best c !mprehends the ('harms of nomadic life.
Jlt:XOAlty. 11

[t is there that man, regarding his existence as a t]·an·


sicnt halt, looks upon his house as a tent, and the world
itself as ::t. grcat cal'avansemi, f!'Om which all mllst soon
journey to a spirit land.
The Magyars arc of Asiatic origin, and exhibit many
of the peculiarities of Eru;tern life on the soi l of Europe.
The two great ideas of the Orient- the idea of' God and
that of coulltry-arc strongly impressed upon tllci r
minds.
Love of' pilgrimage is almost as characteristic of the
CatllOlic H ungarians and Austrians as of' the Greeks
and Moslems lill'thcr East. The Emperor Ferdinand
aud his p]'edecesso]' discouraged pilgrimages j but as
everything is now yielded up to the priests and sol·
diers, they arc hecoming more common every year.
The rich and powerful, however, rarely take part in
them, as they, the favored of men and gods, think to
reach IIea\'en by the golden bridge of charity, or by
the e880r of ambition.
The pilgrims al'e peasants, and almost eyery day I
saw large bands of them slowly winding their way to
some consecrated spot. Aside from deYotion, pilgrim.
ages arc to the peasantry what travelling and frequent-
ing the gl'eat watering-places are to the nobility and
rich burghers. They have also a double charm in
countries like Austria and H ungary, abounding in wild
and beautiful scenery. The shrines are often situated
Oil mountain-tops. as if the feelings attending devotion
12 ROt:~I.\XIA.

in such a place were a foretaste of those ill the pure


H eaven above. In the months of summer, the traveller
frequently meets with bands of pilgrims among the
Austrian Alps. Dressed in the most primitive and
grotesque costumes and headed by p riests carrying
bmmcrs or the cross, t hey wind their way slowly amid
the loneliest solitudes, chanting their hymlls in a solemn
and earnest manner, and lmiting, in the grand temple
of the God of Nature, their simple melody with the
sweet voices I)f the trees, tIle r0cks, and the running
brooks.
Th e region below Gran becomes picturesque in the
extreme. TJ1C lums of the Danube nnite in a si ngle
stream, Ilnd the ,"inc-clad bills risc into porphyry moun-
tains, crowned here and there with noble ruins,
Visegrnd, celebrated e,'cn ill the time of the Ro-
mans, and once so magnificent that a Pnpal Envoy
termed it" a paradise on earth," now contains scarcely
an inhabitant. The cnstle hy the river-side is in n
tolerable stat e ofprcsen'atirlll, whilc that which crown-
ed the mountain in the rear is in rllins. The latter is
said to huye contained t111'ee huudred and fifty cham-
bers, and the two were c(\nllected by a subterranean
passage, Charles R obert, after ]\is marriage with the
Polish princess, Elizabeth, in 1317, chOke for his royal
residence the fortress of Visegrad, which soon became
OM of the most splendid cou rts in Europe. He ex-
pended upon it all tlle marvels which French Il rt and
HU;SGAI! L 13

French taste could commar.d, and the activity with


which the magnificent enterprise was carried on was
checked neith el· by the prematu re death of his two
sons, nor by the constant efforts of the prince against
the ambitions designs of P aul Sub ics, Count of B rebir,
who clai med the title of Ban of Croatia aud Servia. At
V isegrad were HSscmbled the wealth, the learn ing, and
the fashion of Europe. There were held the splendid
feasts and tournaments of the middle ages. H ow its
old halls, now deserted and falling in m ins, must have
rllng with mcniment, and its rocks and glades echoed
the sil very laugh of brill iant dames and the shonts of
mailed knights contending with lance and shield !
Cassimer of Poland, brother-ill-law of Charles Ro-
bert, greatly disturbed the COllrt of'II nngary by an act
which was followed by the most feannl result;;. Hlw-
ing visited H ungary, in 1330, in order to arrange the
affailll of the German knights, uncl er the mediation of
Charles Robert, he became greatly enamored of one of
the ladies attached to the service of the queun. Bril-
liant offers and warm p rotestations had no effect upon
the mind of the yirtuous Clarissa; but as violcnce
comes to the aid of princes when p ersnasion fails, CtlS-
simer, seconded by his sister, the q neen, triumphed by
brute force over helpless innocence.
The un fortunate Clarissa, in her shame and remorse,
fled to her fath er, and related to him the act.. Enraged
at such an insnlt, Felicien Zacs, for that was the f!ltller's
nOLlIA~IA.


name, swore to hare rCveuge, cven at the cost of royal
blood. But the ravisher had escaped immediately after
the commission of his crime, and his absence served
only to irritate the impatient spirit of the wretched
father, From moment to moment his fury became
more ungovernable, lUltil at last he was no longer
master of his passion. Availing himself of the mo-
ment when the royal family were at table, Zacs rushed
into the room, and in default of the victim whom he
wished to immolate, turned to the queen, and with a
single blow of his sabre severed the four fingers from
her right hand. In vain the killg sought to defend his
wife. Zacs wounded him also in the hand, and had
thrown himself upon the two sons of the p rince, when
several noblemen rushed together upon the intruder,
and hewed him into pieces,
The vi.olent death of Zacs di(l not satisfy the royal
vengeance. The attendants of the king seized the son
of the mUI"dcl"ed man, and dragged him, attached to the
tail of a horse, through the streets of the city until he
was reduced to a hideous and lifeless mass.
lllC father's crime might have excused these fright..
ful acts of vengeance committed in the first efferves-
cencc of rage, but those which followed, more terrible
c\'en thau the former, could without doubt have been
prevented by Charles Robert. Thcy cut off the DOse,
the lips, a11d the fingers of the unfortunate Clarissa,
and in Ihis mutilated cOIHlition compelled IlCr to tra-
IIUXQARY. 15

verse the strcets of Yiscgrad, crying, "Behold how-


regicides arc IHlll ished!" V engeflnce was extended
even to the t]lird generation. The grandsons of F eli-
cien Zacs were condemned to banishment, and all Ids
relatives lil'ing fit the time sacrificed with relentless
cruelty.
Neal· Visegl'ad is an ancient cemetery in which I
felt peculinr interest. I nm equ:\lly fond of cities throb-
bing with l ife and these silent cities of the dead, and
will not soon fo rget the hours I have spent in catholic
burial-grounds. The Germans call them Golte~dckoJ',
the Harvest-Fields of God, and how beautifully that
name expresses the idea of resurrection, of God's
gathering, as from a field, the fruits of redemption!
I found the cemeteries everywhere in Germany sur-
ronnded with high walls. III stormier times people
used to collect in them tIleir families and goods for pro-
teetiun. In certain parts of Hungary, aud on the bor-
der-lands of Christianity and barbarism, these walled
burial-places still serve to protect the living and the
dead from lHl.llds of violence. 'Vi thin, owing to their
antiqu ity, every inch of grollnd has been used, awl
doubtless used mally times. All is laid out with the
great(st regularity, :md the dead sleep in lines:ls per-
fect f:S the ranks of living squadrons. Their monu- •
mcnts arc neat and tasteful, but rarely so costly and
gorgeous as many in Greenwood an d :Mount Anbm·n.
In WI iting epitaphs for the del)arted, tIle Germans
16 Ronl.un.\.

and Hungarians display far more taste and le~s vlWity


than oursO. 70S. l1tey do not all at once disco'-er Q
person's good qualities as soon as he is dead, and place
an epitaph over his head that would flatter his vanity
if he wero living. A simple word or senten~ lUI,
"Asleep," "Not forgotten," "lIe will rise," tells the
sad tale more effectively, and lodges a sweeter thought
in the memory of the passer-by, than the most elabo-
rate ycrse or far-fetched eulogy.
By way of episode I may say that, although tile
Catholics of Germany and llungary plant more flowers
over the graves of the dead than we are accustomed to
in America, their estimate (If the human dust and hor-
ror of the final dissolution, arc by 110 means 80 great
llnd so lively as our own. P ost-mortem examinations,
which are so dreaded in America, especially by tho
Catholic popnlatif)n, are there rather desired than otller-
wise. They wish to make sure that they are not bury-
ing a living fr iend, and the thought t hat" men turn in
their graves" is to them far more awful than tho Sight
of human b lood and mllscles. The law directs that
burials shall not take place till after the lal)SO of a cer-
tain number of hours. P ersons watching with tllO
dead usually sit in the same room with the corpse ;
• when that is not the case they plaeo 1\ bell-con.! in its
hand flO as to be summoned by nlly movement that may
occur.
Should the traveller tarrying if Vienna wish to be-

17

hold a sight that he will IlC\'cr forget) let hilll repair to


the" Court of Death," attached to the gr'cat hospita.l
whose inmates arc numbered by thousands. The breath-
less sleepers a rc arranged in long rows, each grasping
the tiny cord, the frailest thread to which hope can
cling-for of the multitude who have taken up It tem-
porary abode in that gloomy mansion, but one has buf-
feted the Lcthcan waters and returned to the shore of
life. Once, indeed, the little bell tinkled, b reaking the
long si lence of yem'S, and a seeming corpse arose, and,
clad in the severe habiliments of death, stalked fOl'th
among the living.
I have spont much of my life among the dying and
the dead, bnt there is one spot ncar Vienna by which I
never 10\'od to pass. It is where the poor of Vienna fife
bu ried. D eep l)its fire dug in the ground, each for a
particular day. During the dark and sileut hOlll'S of
the night, the dead wagon rattles over the stony streets
of the imperial eity, collecting the victims that h:nTe
here a nd there been cut down in their ahodes of mise-
ry. 'Vhen all have been thus gathered for a single
night, the Todtenwagen, foll wled by neither chanting
priest nor weeping relative, is d riven to the P otter's
field, where the naked bodies, coffinless and shroudless,
are plunged into their dark home, embracing each
other in the. accidental movements of death.
Touchingly bcautifnl, however, arc many of tile
Catholic Cllstoms relating to the dcparted. When I
·1<
_ 1:O(;~IA:O>JA .

awoke and went to my window olle November Ill o rn ~


ing, I saw the walks lined with persons passi ng out of
the city through the Be/lOtten ThoI', one of the twel ve
gates of Vienna, towards the large cemetery in 'Viihr-
mg. Al most without exception they were carrying
wI'caths and bouquets of flowers, and many of them
also large globe lamps of colored glass, in which wax
taper;; were burning. At fi rst I could hardly under-
stand so novel a spectacle, havillg never beard of bll t
one sensible person carryiJlg a l ighted lantern in the
streets by day-Diogencs in search of an honest mall.
B ut, remembering that it was A ll-Saints' day, I k new
that the festoons a nd wI'oaths of s wcct-smelling flowe rs
were intended to hang over the tombstones of the dead,
and the lamps to be vlaced oyer their graves many
hours, in order that, according to their childish bel ief,
the dim taper might light the un bOll1ld soul to its hea-
ven home. IIaving but little to do, I d l'cssed myself
and fell in with the crowds that were vassi ng towar(ls
the cemetery.
Though so late in the season it was mude to blossom
with roses, and the dewy tears on the cold mal-b)e SILt
like gems among the flowers, All the avenues wel'e
filled with people walking here a.nd there, or busied in
decorating the g raves, The festoons and wreaths were
hnng over the monuments which, both large and smaU ,
were generally of the shape of a. cross, The soil over
lbe little :)Icnnds, which wilh us few love to distUl'b, is
JlUl'."QAltY. If:l

tJlere from year to year made into a Sillall flower-bed,


whi"h is never so carefully arrangerl as on All-Saints'
day. Tapers were lighted over them all, and the good
mothers and sisters were kneeling on the cold ground
uesidc them, I'cpcating the prayer which is prescribed
for l"Cleasillg the sonls of their friencls from the plagues
of purgatory. I noticed, however, but few manifesta-
tions of grief; for disturbing the earth over those they
had once loved did not seem greatly to harrow lip bit-
ter thoughts in the hearts of the living.
I saw many poor women, vcry poor women, kneel-
Illg by the side of monuments far too costly for tllCm
or theirs, and asked why they did so in the cold morn-
ing air. "lFir belen fur die Beelen der Todten" (we
arc prayiug fo r the souls of the dead), SHiel onc of tllCm ;
"and if you will give us a kreutzC/' we wi.11 pray for
yon also." "'IVherever there is human life, something
can be learned of human natu re. These poor women,
such as we sec only in the streets of European cities,
arc so accustomed to look lip to the rich and powerful
when alive tlmt they go and whisper their patel'-11()$tenJ
by tbei r graves when dead.
I spent an hom' in wanderi ng amOllg the gta\'CS and
reading the epitaphs. Among the monuments were
those of dukes, counts, and great generals who had
rendered tllcir names memorable in Austrian histol"Y.
By chance I came before the tomb of Beethoven, over
which is an obelisk, ornalllf;nted with a lyre and sur·
20

rounded with acacias. I! is almost worth a pilgrimage


across the Atlantic to sta.:ld by the g rave of that great
genius. Who would not like to go there yearly, when
All-Saints' day retnrns, and say n paUNW8tcr' He
mnst ha\"c a heart of stone who will not give the poor
rId woman who often kneels there, a few kreulzertl foJ'
her pious prayers.
That eveni ng I attended worship at the cathedral
of St Stephen, when all the saints of the calendar were
iJwokcd . After music began the great prayer, which
was responded to by thousands. The im-ocation was
approximating to the length of a Calvinistic BonnOR.
I grew impatient, and could not help whispering to Il
young lady by my side:
"Allow me, how many saints arc there 1 "
" More than three hundred and fiftyt she replied.,
smiling.
That was enough. Not to appear irreverent I
bowed to the Madonna, and p assed out through the
Gothic archway into the world that was beat ing and
throbbing 0 11 the great square of St. Stephen.
Below Viscgrad the Danube rivals in beauty the
Hudson and the Rhine. Towards evening the lofty
fortress of Buda came in view, and P esth, on the oppo-
site bank of the river, rose like a Sphynx from ils
waves. Shooting llllder the ll1aS1'i ve s11spension bridge,
more th an one thousand feet in le ngth, we landed in Il
few mOIllC'Its 0 11 thc hnsy (lila),.
lIUXOAIlY. 21
'111e MagYfu', like the American, has a genuine ,ore
for spacious hotels, magnificent steamers, and lotlg rail-
ways; in fact, for grand undertakings of every kind.
There was something so un·Eul·opean about P esth, I
saw so mauy engravings of Washington in the shop
windows, that I could have thought mysclf in N.ew
York had it not been for tbe mosaic of nationalities in
the streets. I hnppellcd to be there during one of
t he quarterly fairs. Wild-looking Slo,'aeks, nu nga-
rians with broad-brimmed hats, differing in no respect
from tho companions of Arpad, and long-haired 'Val-
lacks dressed in sheepSKins with the wool-side ont,
contrasted strangely with the Mngyars attired in 111eil'
splendid national costume. Two ages seemed to be
brought together, and the rOllghnesses of barbarism Ie
be patched upon the silken robe of' civilization.
The Museum is one of the finest sll'llCtures ill Pesth)
and owes its origin to the enterprise of Count SzechellY,
IIis son projected the finest bridge ill Europe, shat-
tered the cImins of the IIlIngal'ian serfs, and broke
through the Iron Gate of the Danube. Alas, that such
a man should experience sneh a fate! DiRappointll1cnt
and sorrow for the fitll of IInngm'ian liberty so wrought
upon his mind that he bccame a lurious maniac, and as
snch is now confined in Bohemia,
I have visit.ed most of the great gallerics of Enrope
find studied their pictures and statues, bnt I must con·
fess, with feelings of pain mingled with the 1)leasure
22 ROli Y .\NIA.

that celebrated works of art bestow. I ask myse~


now came these here? H ow is it that this or that
- sovereign-for these great collections belong to kings
and princes-has been able to pay so many thousand
dollars for an old painting or a piece of statuary 1 The
answer is simple; they arc ratlwr the exponent8 of
,,':rong and oppression ; kings exhibit and enjoy them,
but the people have lind to pay for them-at the cost
of how much suffering, how mallY tears! 111c longer
I lived in E urope the prouder did I become of my na-
tive country and its institutions. 11lCrc oue finds more
splendid specimens of art, men more profo und in cer·
tain branches of science, and individual iristances of
greater wealth; but the glory of our R epublic is that
every man is a soyercign, that want is limited, that
education is diffused, and that even in the lower classes
t here is a great amount of intelligence and virtue. Art,
however, is not of necessity confi ned to the hot-bed of
European despotism; happier accidents will yet be dis-
coyered for her development. Under the fostering
smile of Liberty nobler ideals will arise and loftier
conceptions be realized. If not, may that art wbicll
adorns the palaces of kings perish for eHlr.
These thoughts were suggested by a visit to the gai-
lery of paintings in the museum at Poath. l11e pieces,
reInting for the most part to important c"ents ill ilun-
garian history, were not numerous, blLt like our ow n
productions, strictly na.tional, original in conccpti nll ,
23
and bold ill execntion. J~ikc OUl1>cl vOB the J(ullgariil.Jl!)
have been too busily engaged in developing their poli ~
t ical system to bestow much ti n.c and study upon art.
It was with them, before they lost all liberty, as with
the ancient Athenians; the man who did not engage in
political life was regarded not only as a harmless, bllt
also as a llseless person .
W hen the National Academy Wag founded fO l' the
purpose of dC\'clopi llg the resources of the 1.[agyur'
tongue, Count Zelcki gave it his l ibrary of more than
80,000 volumes, and Count SZCCh CllY his income fOl'
a year, amoun ting to $30,000. D uring the building of
the Hungaria n theatre, a poor jou J"lleyman callie [ 0 1'-
ward Imd ask ed the pl'i\'ilege of contributing fifteen
days' labor, ns he could llOt give from his p \lr~e. Such
wru; the national enthnsiasm whicll I'esulted in the in-
su rrection of 1848 ! R enewed efforts arc no\\' being
made to develop llllngarian literatu re. They have a
noble galaxy of poets and histOl·imls.
I cannot sufficiently ad mire the force, flex ibiiity, alHi
beauty of the H ungarian Imlguage. Soft, riel" vigor-
ous, concise, filled with proverbs and strange marriages
of thoughts, it is, like all Oriental idioms, euphonic,
and essentially poetical. Th e misfortunes of the nati on
seem to have saddened its ycry l:mgllage. The Magyar
is proud of the land conquCI'cd by his ancestors, No
one Clln boast of a 110bler history, but with his patri-
archal si mpl icity of manners, he lo\'es uest to describe
2< ROUM ANIA.

tho beauties of nature and the joys of f,nstoral lifc.


When scones of terror and blcJd are p resented, he
kindly draws a veil of tender sympathy OWl" th e
melancholy picture. W ith its soft inflections and melo-
dious accentuations, the language of the Magyars is
equally fitted to portray the shock of armies, the im-
l)ctuosity of the mOllutain ton ent, and the fi nest con-
ceptions of Oriental thOl1ght. Sonorous and energetic,
without bcillg harsh or barbaric, it adapts itself with
the same faciiity to poetry and the eloquence of the
tribune as to the sciences and the arts. It has no
palms, and is always the same, whether spoken b,}'
nobles, pcasftnts, or shepherds whether it b reathes
the plaints of an enamored heart, murmurs the sweet
acccnts of th e idyl, soars among the heights of ph ilo-
sophy, or echoes, in more than Bacchic fury, the tu~
mult of war. One must hear a Magyar lady speak, to
get an idea of the swcetness and the f:tscination of her
l anguage. ,Vhen, on the contrary, an orator over-
whelms his advenmries at the stormy forum, 0'· a chief
culls his warriors to the COIL bat, YOII cannot conceive
of anything more forcible or majestic. "A man must
pmy in H ungarian if he would be heard in heaven," is
a maxim of tJlC country.
The Magyar race was cradled on the coufines of t he
Chinese emp ire. Its language resembles the Fi nnish,
and bears a still closer affinity to the Turkish, showing
tbereby iden tity of origin. Strnngc how kinch-cd 1'00-
pies, wandering from ccntral Asia, that prolific mothm'
of nations, here wan'ing with each other and there un-
mindful of eneh othcr's cxistenee, have preserved ill
their language the proofs of their bl'othCl'hood ! More
enduring than pyramids or coliseums, 01' the noblest.
thoughts embalmed in lit.erature, are the spoken words
of those old barbaric nat ions.
The H ungarimls am Imssionately fond of music and
song. On Slmtly afternoons the Magyar chival ry repai r
to the sylvan retreats along the D anube, to engage in
COll vel'Sution wilh the stately Hungarian dames, or wind
with them the labyrinths of the dance. The cvcning
breeze creeps softly lip the river. A band of gipsy
musicians mounts the rostrum. Rude in appearance
are they, l)ossessing all the physical characteristics of
their nllculth-nt.ed race, But IIp to these dusky chil-
ch en of Asia tile Magyars look, as the con SCl'\"-'l~ (If the
primiti\'e music and sOllg of their nat.ion. TIley ren-
der the C8ard&, the famons national airs of H ungary,
in all thcir varied expression, now sad and energetic,
llQW wild and grandiose, as the moving periods of the

drama. P iece aft.er piece is given , whose intollat ions,


c1langing and impassioned, quicken the Magyar pllise
and tOllch Ids breast with fi re. Thc war march of
Thikoczi, the Marseillaise of Hungary, is at last given
with II wl1l'lnth and Ol'iginalit.y that wake n storm of
tumll1tuousexci temcnt. A thousand plaudits rillg upon
the air :l. thousand voi ces accompany the wild concord
2
26 l:OU;\I.\X\.\ .

of tho instruments, and those h:mghty Magyars yield to


the swelling tido of song as the oaks of many winwrs
yield to the stroke of the tempest.
Next to the mothers and daughtclos of Amer ica I ad-
mire the nu ngarian ladies. They afC also passionate
admirers ot' American institutions. "'Vc revere your
W ashington as a demi-god," said on~ of them to me,
one day. "You Americans ought to build a monu-
ment to his memory that would kiss the very sky.
You should then say your prayers at its base, and I
should like to repeat mine there for my bleeding coun-
try." I replied that I would be but too happy to ac-
company her Oil an expedition of that llaturc. "No,"
said she," we IIungarian women have rcsolt'ed never to
leave our country. We wept o\'cr her fall, we share
her humiliation, and will remain here hopeful and ever
confident that we shall one day enjoy her trinmph."
I n patriotism, the IInngarian women do not fall be-
hind their lords. Nor, perhaps, is it an excess of hero-
worship, that they name half of their male oifSI)ring
Louis Kossuth. Though unfortunate in war, and exiled,
the great lIungarian leader is first in the hearts of his
people. 'nlC A ustrians assert that as Kossuth's birth-
place was by the side of Attila's grave, the ashes of the
Sconrge of God were infiltrated into the \'eins of hi m
who sought to libenHe his country. T iltlcs change.
lIe who was the" Scourge of God)J in one age, may
become the scourge of tyrAnts in anothcr.
IIn'GA.RY. 27

Crimes never grow old, fire neve!' forgotten in the


Jives of nations; and it i.s the crime of tyranny that the
despotic powers of Europe must expiate with seas of
blood.
" 'Vero all the streams whieh wind
Their mazy progreSO! to the main,
To clcall8C these odious stains in one C(lmbincd,
The streams oombincd would flow in vain."

Those who have been brought lip around the des-


potic thrones of E urope talk pompously of absolutism
and the sword as the only panaceas fo r all 8-ocial and
political evils; but it is by no mealls easy to account for
the apathy of the great mass of Europeans. Survey
the vast military establishments on the Continent; be-
hold millions of men arrayed in the sevcre habilimcnts
of war ; look upon their fields of infantry and torrents
of camlry! W hat are an these worth for the cause of
liberty? By the enchantmcnt of kingly power, not
only the armed millions of Europe stand silent and
motionless. like splcndid petrifactions, but her wealth,
her commerce, and learning arc all made the slaves of
despotism.
The Frenchman looks upon Liberty as a capricions
Inistress; the German,

"Fuddled by the protOllnd phH090phy of beer,"

regards her much as he docs the great-gnmdmother


28

whom he never saw; but the H ungarian, like the


American, loves liberty as he loves h is wife.
W hile E ngland was striving to wh iten the sea. with
ships and clothe the world in cotton, while all the UIl-
certain schemes :fI.oatingill the limbo of French politics
had for their ultimate object the glory and aggrandize-
ment of kingly power, while the sovereigns of Austria
and P russia werc struggling for tIIe crown of Germany,
lost amid the surges of revolution, the H ungarians were
quietly developing their free institutions.
Of the Bund-that clumsy organization of German
S tates-the Swedish Chancellor Oxensteirn long ago
remarked that it was "a state of confusion existing
only by the grace of God," and the estimation in which
Teutonic servility is held by the R ussians is aptly set
forth in their proverb , "Heaven has sufficien tly pun·
ished a man in permitting him to b e born a German."
H ad the house of H apsburg been true to its mission,
there would be some meaning in that political axiom,
"Sit n'y avait pas une Autriche, ilfaudl'ait la ~eer."
I nstead of producing a nationality strong, earnest, and
growing out of the wishes of a g reat people, the court
of Austria has preferred one concentrating in, and ra-
diating from, the body of Francis Joseph, a tyrant a.t
once hated and obeyed by twenty nations.
" Carthage must be destroyed." Carthage was de-
-
stroyed, but from her ashes rose nn flxenging genius,
which, by awakening strife between Syllil and Marius,
HUNGARY. 29
caused the fall of Rome herself. So it may be with
Austria. Panslav ism, the evil genius that threatens
her, is of Hu ngarian growth, though of Bohemian
origin. The principles of Panslavism-----(/r the fusion of
all the Slave trib{S-were first thoroughly eliminated in
a book styled," The History of the Slave Language and
L iterature," published in 1826, by Schafarik, a native
of Upper Hungary_
This no\'el idea of bringing into one organization tIle
membra disjecta of a great family was eagerly c:mght
up the following year by the H ungarian Kollar, also of
Slave origin, who, with all the zeal of the most earnest
agitator, baptized it in bUl'lling song_ The enthusiasm
of Kollar carried llim, as was belie\·ed, far into the
regions of extravagancc, if not of delirium, and no
greater proof of the liherality of the Hungarians can
be given than that these first ndepts of P anslavism
were permitted quietly to develop principles among
them which wcrc to result in the overthrow of their
country. Kollar, hurling defiance alike at Magyars,
Germans, and Mnssulmans, ventured even to deelare in
his heroic poem, Slavy Dceia, that the costume, thc
customs, and songs of his people would onc day prevni l
on the banks of the Elbe and Seine_ This may be an
ebullition of poetical frcllzy, hut its fulfilment would
not be more strange than that clouds of Cossack ca\-al-
ry should have already watered their horses on the
banks of those noble rh·ers

30 IWU:\L\XIA.

The Magyars, like the Liberals III other parts of


Europe, do n ot forget how Russia has cnsla \'ed her
patient millions, how, during the forty years of peace
which preceded the Eastern war, all Ule conscn -ntil"C
hands of Europe were engaged in building up the
Northern O<llossus, and how England and France
have, in reality, assisted that Power in the fu tile task
of enslaving the European world. l11OI1gh checked in
a career which promised so mu ch for themselves and
for Europe, und fo r the present crushed to the earth,
they arc not without hope : they remember that " I t is
not fleets and annies; it is not wealth and great posses-
sions that constitute the strength of States; but it is
watchfulness."
An avengi ng power is, h owever, slowly sprillging
up in Contineutal Europe-I mean Public Opinion in
favor of liberty. Already the prestige of kings, the
traditions of absolutism, and resp ect for dynasties are
beginning to fade away before it. Tyranny has not
yet s})oken h er last word, but the day wiII come when
men who think like Brutus will act like Brutus.
From one great annoyance to t nlvellcrs in Hungary,
1 was gl·atefully relieved. The Ohef de Police at
Vienna had kindly given me permission to t ravel any-
where in the A ustrian dominions, and my passport
bore the signature of the American Ollw'qe d) .Affaires.
But on my arrival at P esth the police, not being familiar
with Englisb, applied the above tit-Ie to myself. TIle

HUNGARY. 31

mistake was entirely their own, and during my stay in


IIungm")" I did not care to undccei"e them. The
K oszta affair_was then fresh in the memory of the Aus-
trians. My title acted l ike enchantment. Not an
impediment was thrown in the way, and the Austriall
officials, generally so stiff and nnyielding, stood ready
to gratify my every wish.
P esth contains 20,000 inhabita.nts less than ill 1848.
W ere a man to go there from the uttermost parts of the
earth, without knowing anything of the history of the
Magyars for thc last eight years, he would fin d it all
written in the looks and bem'iug of that noble race.
Buda, so n amed from a brother of Attila, occupies
a commanding position on the opposite side of the
river. The Turks occupicd the fortress while they were
in possession of Hungary, and constructed many of the
buildings yet standing inside the walls. The immense
cellars excavated in the solid rock, served for places of
refuge during the bombardments in 184-9. 'Vhcn Gor-
gey besieged the city, at that time in the hands of thc
Austrians, Ilis wife persuaded him to direct his heaviest
fire upon the castle, in order, that if taken, it might
neycr b e occnpied by Madame Kossuth , whom she re-
garded as a ri val
Whilc at Buda I visitcd Alt-Oren, theAquinenm of
the ancients, three or four miles aboyc. Thongh now a
wretched J cwish village, it once contained a Roman
population of one hundred t hol1 sand son Is. Tn the
32 ROU)IANI,\.

vicinity may bc secn the remains of an aqueduct.,


sanctified by holy pictures in later times. Other ruins
are pointed out, but I was unable to discover any traces
of the ancient amphitheatre, sai d to have been suffi·
eiently large to accommodate 8000 spectators. The
R oman baths in the vicinity of the village are much fre·
quented. Near by is a Turkish mosque, to which a
pious pilgl·im occasionally wanders from distallt Mecca.
After a short sojourn in Buda·Pcsth I embarked on
board the steamer one pleasant morning for SemBn.
As we steamed down the magnificent Danube, I felt
myself no longer in E urope : I seemed to touch the soil
of Asia. This illusion was strengthened by the Orien·
tal costume and bearing of the people. The Magyar
hates the mountains. P referring the pastoral life to the •
tumult of cit.ies, he has a Bedouin passion for the free
air and horizon of the l)lai ns upon which he tends his
flocks. A c11ild of the Orient, his horse is his insel)u,
rable companion. H e wears loosc flowing garments,
and has an E astern lo\'e of display in d ress and eques-
trian trappings.
The cities along the Danube and in the interior, are
for the most part immense villages whose \'ery appear-
ance indicates that they belollg to a once nomadic peo-
ple. The low wooden houses, small, white·washed, and
many feet apart, look in the distance like long rows
of tents. The towns were formerly encampments, in
which the cottage has taken the plaee of tho pav ilion,
JlUXOAI:Y. 33

and the cllllrch risen up where once stood Ule tent or


the chief. Thither the peasants repai .· at nightfall to
repose, as their ancestors, in cnrlier ti mes, rested during
thei r migrations and battles.
Hungary embraces two immcnse plains, su rrounded
by boulevards of lofty mountains. P arts of these, rival-
1!l1g ill fertil ity the prairies of the '\Test, are dotted wilh
villages and ocean·like fi elds of grain. Here and there
nlso arc wide pampas, grown up with luxuriant grass,
upon Wllich a solitary horsem:1Il is occasionally to be
seen. Bordering the Danube are immense marshy
tracts, submerged in tho spring, and grazed during tho
months of summer by hel·ds of dun·colored cattle.
None but tJlC most llardy ventnre into this region of'
gloom, and solitude, and fatal miasmas.
Farther back, cspecially between the Danube anJ
the Theiss, is a vast plain, forming a veritable desert.
I t is Africa in Europe. F or weary, weary leagues the
borizon is unbroken by a tree or a human habitation.
Shrubs and tufts of coarse wiry gr!l.SS take root wherever
moisture can be found for thei r support. Above is t\
fervid and brassy sky, below a parched and arid soil.
By day tho sun hangs over the inhospitable waste like
J\ burning meteor ; by night chilly exhalations creep
over it from the marsh lands, poisoning the air, and
misguiding the lonely traveller with their fi ickering1'glle8
fatui. The winds that sweep Ol'er the plU1zla8, for by
that name the Hllngnrians dcsignate these plain!;, fill
9'

34 Il.Oti)tANB .

the heated nir, and J'cdden the horizon with clouds of


shifting sand. The few shepherds and travellers roam-
ing over this. inhosl)itablc region a rc tormented by the
illusory appearances of the mira,)e, which unlike the
refl ections of cities and forcst-emboso med lakes that
gladden the eye on the deserts of Africa, have the
appcnr::mcc of seIlS, now wild nnel gloomy, then l)lacid
and dreamy, or of :Bowery prairies with shepherd huts
and p eaceful folds.
Stretching from the Danube t owards Transylvania
are the remains of a wall and Calla! , which, as was usnal
with the R omans, marked the boundary of their empire
in tlus direction. Both IIungal"ians and Austrians used
these ancient works for intrenchments in 1849. But
the unlettered lIIagyar shepherds, ignorant alike of the
Romans and their achievements, cQnnect, by a beautiful
legend, the origin of these old R om an defences with the
illusions of the mirage.
Csorsz, as the shepherds tell when they assemble in
their tents by night, was the gallant son of the king of
the Transylvan ian Alps, whose treasures of gold and salt
were greater than those of all the kings and princes in
the world. CsOl"SZ heard of the celestial beauty of Deli
Bab, the daughter of the king of the Southem Sea (Adri-
atic), and his heart was inflamed with lo\"e for her. He
therefore sent heralds from his Alps, down to the bor-
ders of the Adriatic, with loadr; of the most costly gifts
of sal t and gold, and slIe!1 for the hand of the 10\'0Iy
IIUNGARY. 35

Deli Bah. B ut the proud King of the Sea dcspising thc


kings of the Earth, said that he would never gl'ant
the daughter of the Sea to the son of'thc Alps until he
came with a fleet down from his mountains to convey •
his bride by water to his palace, as her feet were too
delicate to be exposed to the rollgh stones of tho Earth .
But the hernlds, convinced of tho power of their king,
threw the bridal ring and the presents of gold and salt
into the sea, whieh from this time became rieh in salt j
and having tlms scaled the betrothal, returned to their
prince. In despair about the desire of the King of the
Sea, and knowing not how to comply with his condition,
Csorsz called on the devil and entreated his aid. The
arch fiend, withollt delay, put two buffaloes to his glow.
ing plough, and in a single night dug the canal from
Transylvania to the Danube, and thence down to the
sea. CSOI'SZ speedily had a fleet constructed, and
joyfully steered down to the Adriatic to take away his
bride. H er p rincely falher gave np his daughter with
deep regret : however, he Wtl$ bound by his word, as
the new diplomacy was not yet invented, and the
pledges of monarchs were still considered sacred.
But the beautiful bride was sorry to leave her cool
palaee of erystal, hel' innumerable toys of shells and
pearls, and even the monsters of the sea, who had sen'·
cd her with u nbounded devoticn. She pro :nised not
to forget thei I' home, and often to visit her father and
sisters in snmmer, when thc hot sunbeams might prove
36 l!Ot;)L\~I.\ .

too intense for hel' on the dry cartI!. (A,orsz, with fes-
tive song!) and mcrry sounds, conveyed his beloved tip
the canal. Deli Bab was delighted with the mountains,
woods, fields, and meadows, wh ich swiftly passed her:
she was hig}l!Y amused with the obj ects wholly new to •
ller sight. Uut whell by chance she looked backward,
she beheld with terror, that behind the fleet the waters
dried UI) in the canal, and that tlms the return to her
father's real III became impossible. She never could feel
at home in the gold and salt "au lts of the Transylvania
mountai ns ; the heavy masses of the Alpsdcpl"Cssed her
soul j the w intry snow chilled her thoughts; the bum·
ing beams of the summer SUIl melted her into tears.
She never laughed, and always «reamed of her transpa-
rent abode in the sea, The love of the princely son of
the Alps remai ned sterile, Deli Bab was childless.
She melted away with longing, and was t ransformed
into the Mirage, or F ata Morgann, a dreamy appearance
of the sea which yanishes away as soon as you approach,
and which in Hu ngary yet bears the name of the fair
Deli Bab. The remai ns of the canal are still called
0801'83 iil'ka, the Canal of Csijrs7., *
The immense p1uin between the Dannbe and the
'Theiss is the elassi c Jand of the Magyars. Filled with
the souvenirs of ancient migrations and recent com-
bats, it bears the name of Ja7.,)'gia, from a wandering
tribe supposed to ha\'e settled thel'e hefore the Roman
• Memoir'!! of H ungary.
IIt:NOAItY. 37

conquest. The descendants of the Jazyges prescn ·e,


as a p recious relic, the i\'ory drinking horn of Lehel, a
son of one of the warriors of' A I·pad. 'Vhcn a g uest is
welcomed in thei r chief town, or the right of citizen-
ship is conferred, the horn of Lehel is filled with wine,
and must be emptied at a single b reath.
In this region A ttila held his court, here settled the
companions of Arpad, and here still roam shepherds
and herdsmen scarcely differing from their nomadic
ancestors. The Magyars, leaving Asia by the gate of
the Ural and the AltaY, took up their stately march
across the plains of' R ussia, and reached Cen tral Europe
by the passes of the Carpathians, bri nging with them
the germs of their future insti tutions. D uring their
migration westward, they assembled more than once to
select those whl. should lead them to conquest, to dis-
h'ibute the burtlens of war or the spoils of' victory.
The appearance of the host was snch as to excite
t(,rror even in those barbaric times. On horseback,
always on horseback, the witd chi valry of Asia march-
ed before a conf'used multitude of women and children.
Then followed immense herds of cattle and TUde wa-
gons, some of which were al rondy tilted with booty,
while others awaited tJle fruits of f uture victories. TIle
terror-stricken nations of' Euro})e recognised in the
g l'im-visaged strangers the bands of Gog and Magog,
spoken of' in the Apocalypse, whose ad vent was imme-
diately to precede the destruction of the world. Ad·
38 ROUMANIA.

mitting in their faith the dualism of the Persians, the


eternal condict between the spirits of good and of evil,
the Magyars worshipped the elements, especially flre,
which was personifbd in the sun. To the Supreme
God, embracing in himself all other divinities, to
Magya roJv.Ltene, the god of the Magyars, they never
sacrificed human beings, but immolated upon his altars
milk-white horses. They addressed hymns to the Earth,
whence come t\lC harvest and tile flowers, the useful
iron and the sparkling diamond. As many enemies as
the valiant Magyar had slain in battle, 80 many se....
vants would he bave in the future world.
Our first day's journey below Pcsth W88 weary
and monotonous. Now and then we stopped for pas-
sengers at some lonely village, near which were moored
a number of clacking gristmills, propelled by the foree
of the current. The horizon, much of the way, was
bounded only by the great plain of Central Hungary.
Troops of horses and of long-horned cattle, stood in
the shallow margin of the river, enjoying, with droop-
ing heads, the shade of the overhanging trees. Flocks
of wild fowl, scarcely frightened by our approach,
rose hesitatingly from the surfl~ce of the ri ver, and
winged their way to other haunts. Vividly the lines
of Campbell came to mind-

"Unknown, uuploughed, untroddeu !hoNl,


Where scame the peasant finds a road,
And 8Cll.roe the fisher pliOl! an oar."
!
IlUNG ARY. 39

Towards evening we passed Mohacz, where, in


1526, perishecl Louis ll. of Hungary in the war with
Solyman, that fat."!l day of the Magyars, which . gave
their coun try t <) the Turks, and afterwards to the Aus-
trians. Christian Europe, however, avengcd the deed
a century and a half later, 011 the same bloocly field,
by the splendid victories of the Duke of Lorraine, all
achievemen t speedily followed by the expulsion of the
Moslems f,·olll Hungary.
W e passed the night at the mouth of the Drave,
which flows into the Danube from Croatia and Siavo-
nia. Near by ns, on the shore, was an encampment
of boatmen, their coarse brawny figures strongly set
forth by the glowing fi re, around which they were par-
taking of thei r evening meal. A rucle tent had been
spread for shelter, and the horses turned loose on the
adj acent plain. A rough ancl perilous l ife is theirs.
Thc huge barges in which they con vey the productions
of Lower Hungary to Pesth and Vienna, are clrawn up
stream by horses, sometimes thirty in number, each of
which is mounted by an cxpericncecl rider; and the
whole cavalcade directccl by a guide. Often they arc
obliged to swim from shore to shore, or to make long
detours in or(l er to avoid the sand-banks and morasses
skirting the ri 'o'er. To see them reposing under the silent
stars, relating the vicissitudes of the day arollnd their
camp fires, calls to mind the tented life of the desert..
Early the following day we passed the fortress
40 ROVlIASIA.

of P cterwardein, made illustrious by one of the v,.,.



tories of Prince Eugene, and Carioyitz, where in the
peace of 1699, the Turks agreed to abandon their con·
quests in IIungary and Slavonia. A t Carlovitz, also,
resides the h ead of the Greek Church in Austria.
The Danube, after receiving the waters of the
Theiss, a noble r iver stretching away to the nortll,
makes two great bends before reaching the confluence
of the Save, at Belgrade. Approaching Servia, the
prospect becomes really magnificent. The Danube
flows on grandly between the richest plains of Europe
on the onc hand, and the vinc-clad hills of Sla" onia on
the other. The Temcsvnr Banat is the granary of Cen-
tral Europe.
Towards oYen ing, Monllt Awala rose in the dis-
tance, with Belgrade at its base. The lofty position of
the fortress, and the white minarets of the Turkish
mosques, with a bewitching region in the background,
made one of the most beautiful pictures I eV('r beheld.
As the steamer SWe}lt round a sharp curve, the whole
of Semlin came suddenly into view, and in a few
minutes we were landed at Ihe last A ustrian town on
the right bank of the Danube.
I asked for the best hotel, and was directed to the
Golden Lion. The hOIlSCS, churches, and mud hO"eI8
thatched with straw, appeared to haye dropped from
the sky and sunk deep in the earth. The streets were
destitute of sidewalks. Now and then a deep slongh
lJUXQARY. 41

appeared to ofier an impassable barrier to fluther pro-


gress, while, as the central parts were lowest, pools of
liquid filth had settled midway between the houses, ill
these nasty, stony lanes.
.A servant conducted me to my chamber through a
dark alley paved with bricks. T he walls were Ol"ll:t-
men ted with dirty p ictures of the Madonna and Greek
saints ; and, as if for burlcsql1c, o\'cr lhe entrance to
my miserable lodgings stood the sentellce, " ,y-elcomc,
my guests."
During my sho]·t stay at Semlin I ascended Gipsy
Mountain, where may be seen the remains of an old
castle, in which John IIunyad died, in 1456, worn out
in the long wars with the Turks. These hills, the
plains beyond the Danube, and the mountains and val-
leys across the Sayc, ])lallted with corn or the yine, and
so marvellollsly beautiful in the distance, have been
again and again deluged with Oh ristian and Moslem
blood. The cemetery on the slope of the mOllntain was
thrown open to the swine and dogs. I continued my
walk through the subu rbs of the city. The wide streets,
the low whitewashed houses-the end towards the road
serving as a residence for the family, t he other for the
cattle-the g reen trees and ricks of wileat, groups of
peasants attired in their national costume, and maidens
carrying water from the Dauube i n shini 19 vessels, all
theBe did not fail to interest and delight.
CITAPTER II.

LIFE IN SERVIA.

" Li..Q~
O'er the v,'hite walls Qf tho forlres Bo.llgrade.
Gazing there on strange enmt.'l and wonders."

AT Belgrade, the capital of Servia, I first felt myself


in the E ast.. One has but to cross the Danube from
Hungarian Scmlin, to see crowds of well-bearded and
well-turbaned Moslems, to hear the prayer-invoking
cry of the muezzin in concert with vesper-bells, and
witness, indeed, the strangest blending of Oriental and
Occidcntal1ifc.
During my stay at Belgrade, I visited the old
Turkish fortress, the object of 60 many con8icts be-
tween the Moslems and Christians. From a command-
iug position it overlooks the city , but the two hundred
sol diers within its decaying walls are prisoners, instead
of being, as in former times, masters of the Servians.
I had hoped to smoke a friendly pipe with old Izzet
P aeha, but he was too ill to receive company. Servia
nominally acknowledges the sovereignty of the Porte,
but is practically independent. A few TurkEl are
merely tolerated in the l)rincipality.
LIFE l:i SERVIA. 43
Infini tely amusing was my first walk in the Turkish
quarter of Belgrade. The wretched cabins seemed
j ust ready to fall in ruins. T he little shops and stalls
were all open towards the street. The grave Mussnl·
mans regarded me as a stranger, and the few veiled
women in the narrow lanes •
avoided me as if I had
been the bearer of the plague.
At the only German hotel in the city, built several
years ago by Prince 1tlilosh, I had the good fortune to
mcet an old college associate in Vienna who had
become a surgeon in the Servian army. W hile he was
expatiating upon the cheapness of everything in Servia,
I mentioned to him that I had l)aid roundly for my
purchases.
" Ah !" said he; "you will understand the Servians
better in a few days. Like the Spartans, they deem it
right to rob anyone but a bliud mall."
To give me a better acquaintance with the people,
he proposed an excursion of a few days in the interior.
We procured .horses and set off the same afternoon fo r
Karanovaz sixteen miles distant, whither Prince Alex·
ander had in part transferred the government to avoid
the officious interference of foreign powers at Belgrade.
On horseback is the usual mode of travelling in Servia,
there being in fact but two wagon roads in the whole
principality.
The way led among hills clothed with magnificent
forcsts. There was a deliciolls sensation of fl'cc(lon1, nil
44 ROUlIAS IA .

the m Ol'C agreeable after the restraint one has to enduro


in despotic A ustria. The l)Cople dared to look each
other in the face, and th ink and act n.s freemen, while
even the streams th at flowed down from the mountains
seemed to murmur songs of liberty.
A t Karanovaz we were hospitably entertained by a

family with whom my companion happened to be
acquainted. The Slaves are everywhere distinguished
for their hospitality. W hen a st.·anger enters a Servia n
village, the families dispute with each other the honor
of entertai ning l!i Ill . H e is received as a guest sent by
P rovidence. The venerable patr iarch of thc honsehold
causes the stranger to be scated at his side. The mi s.
tress of the cottage hastens to serve him. The young-
est daughter will sometimes ask to wash h is feet.
The Servians have a legend, which gives a terrible
p icture of th is national virtue.
" Day departs, and the moon shines upon the white
fields of snow. A stranger enters the dweUing of poor
Lazar.
'" 'Velcome !' says La zar j and, turning to his
wife-
" ' Lubitza, light the fire, anel prepare the evening
meal.'
" ' The forest is large,' responds J~ubi tza . ' The firo
sparkles and blazes upon the hearth , bllt how provide
the evening meal 1 Have we not fasted for two d \\"• f', l'
" Shame and confusion seize llpon poor Lazar.
Lin; IN SERnA . 45

" , Art thou a Servian 1" inquires the stranger; 'and


hMt nothillg to offer thy guest j '
"Poor Lazar searches everywhere, b llt finds no-
thing j not n crumb of bread, not a p iece of fr uit.
Shame and confusion seize upon hi m.
" ' H ere is food,' says the stmngcr, placing h is hand
UpOIl the head of Yanko, a ch ild of golden locks.
Lubilza shrieks as she beholds him, and fall s upon the
earth.
" , Never ! 'ne\'er!' cries Lazar, 'shall it be said
that a Servi:m hnth fai led in t1lC duty of hospitalit.y j'
and, seizing a. hatchet, he slays Yanko ru; if he were :L
lamb.
" Oh! who shall describe the stranger's meal i
" Uzitr sleeps. At midnight he hears the stranger
calling him-
" 'Arise, Lazar! I am the Lord thy God. Serv ian
hospitality halh remained inviolate. Thy son is raised
f'rom the dead, and abundunce is in thy hOllse.'''
Perhaps the most remarkable institution of' th e
Servians is "The Brotherhood," a usage descended
from p rimi tive times. Such is their affection for each
other, that, when a young man has lost a natural
brother, he seeks in the neighborhood a brother by
adoption, and confers upon him all the rights :ll)per-
mining to the deceased. The two ullite with eaeh
other in the namc of God und St. John for mutuul
fidelity and assistanC<J during ·the remainder (If t heir
46 ROUlIANIA .

Ii ves. P ersons thus anied call themselves" brothers in


God." The union concerns those only by whom it has
been formed. The benediction of the church is uot
requisite to fo rm such an alliance. In certain parts of
Scrvia it is customary for the youths, and maidens also,
to entcr into this rclation on the second Monday after
Easter, whilst kissing each other through garlands which
are afterwards exchanged. The first bond, however, is
merely initiatory. At the expiration of a year they
either confirm the original choice or make a Dew selec-
tion. A similar relation oftcn exists between the two
sexes; a man may call a woman his" mother or siste r
in God." A. maiden may elect an old man hcr "father
in God," or a youth her" b rother in God." This alli·
ance between t he sexes is usual in cases of distress ;
and when persons whose assistance is thus invoked
accept the appellation, they arc bound to protect and
care for thc unfortunates placing themselves in their
hands. A violation of so solemn a contract is sup-
posed to incur sevc.·c punishment in heaven. Ene-
mies as well as friends enter into this singular relation.
It not unfrequently exists between Turks and Servians
du ring their bloodjest fends.
The adoption of an orphan into a family is attended
with a touching ceremony. The adopting parent places
his hand upon the child's head as a sign of protection,
saying at the same time: " I adopt thee; for my hcart
hath named thee my chihl. This hOllse is thy hOllse ;
Ll~'E 1:-1 SEl:VIA.

nil Olat belongs to me is thine, and death alone shall


break this bond."
Fraternity in arms also exists among Slaves, as
among the ancient G reeks. The contracting parties
repair to a church with a few friend s for witnesses.
l 1leY cross their wcapons on the ground and swear to
live and die for each other. They then exchange
weapons. Brothers in arms share each other's plea-
sures and combats, and when one of them dies, the
fraternal weapons belong to the survi vOI'.
The haughty Servians preserve this institution with
jealous care. They relate that two brothers-in-arms,
enamored of a beautifnl Turkish captive, put her to
death rather tItan violate the sacred relation between
them, I n consequencc of thesc frie ndly alliances, a
stranger, when accomlHmied by a native of the country,
is l)eriectly safe, being recei ved everywhere as the
friend of a brother. A Montenegrin, having murdered
his guest, was at once slain by his brother for having
dishonored both his family and country by so base an
act. By this mcans, the Turks und Servians, in thei r
border wars, not unfrequelltly traverse the enemy's
country, and even visit the camps of the contending
tribes.
I have found the higher class in Europe, and espe-
cially the nobility, to be everywhCl'e milch the same, ex-
cepting in language and religion. F or striking national
traits, for t raditions and time-honored llsngel:\) in fact)
48 ROUltAN IA.

tor almost everything that can interest the thinking


traveller, we most look to the humble classes. This I
did from the first. Shortly after landing at Liverpool,
and while standing in front of St. George's IIall, ad-
miring the allegorictll €culpture which adorns the tym-
panum of its p ortico, I was b eset by half-a-dozen pro-
fessional peripatetic bootblacks. They urged their
claims as if a nighfs lodging had depended on their sue·
cess, and in a knowing and cunning manner that must
have been borrowed from the gowned and powdered
banisters who frequent the Courts of St. George's Hall.
One fellow evidently saw that I was fresh from the
New World, and for a penny begged to gi\'{l my boots
"the fcul Yankee shine," but he was quickly underbid
by a black littlc urchin, who with a more artistic air,
" his eye wi t h a fine frenzy rolling," wished to put on
"the Exhibi tion touch."
Evening overtakes the traveller at a celo--a Servian
village hid away among the recesses of the Balkans.
The peasants, male and female, are singing merrily
while they lead their fl ocks down the mountains, or
return in groups from their little fields. As the sun
goes down,

"Far !;inking into Bplendor without end,"

the youths alld maidens of the "i1\flge Illeet ullder the


great forest trees to celcbraLc tbe d:lII ccl; of tbcir peo-
Ln-):; IX SERI"L\ . 49

pic, ench one of which is a history, wherein pantomime


takes the place of words, and action and sentiment
beautifully blend the poetical present with the legend-
ary past. Near by, the elders of the celo, seated on
the grass a round the village bard, like a group in the
pastoral age of Agamemnon, listen while he recites the
heroic deeds of their ancestors, or, as if to call back
their spring-time of life, improvises the tender agita-
tions of •youthful hearts .
The young men select partners, and a ring is formed
alternately of males and females_ Then to the song,
accompanied by the monotonous notes of the guzla,
begins the dance of the circle. The fairest maiden of
the village,

"White her clHl<lks, but tinged with rosy blusbes.


Ail if morning's beam had shone upon them,"

leads her compan ions in the mazy evolutions. Now


the dan cers move slowly, separating and uniting in
graceful figures, and then wind in labyrinthine folds so
quickly as almost to elude sight.
In the groups before us are only unlettered peasants,
ignorant of all the world beyond their nativc fo rests,
the names of whose ancient kings arc scarcely preserved
in the national ballads, and whose only archives are
the traditions and songs that resOllnd among their
mountains. But the Kolo, which they celebrate, is
3
50 UOli MANIA.

thc~naika of Greece, the Dredalian dance of tho


r -enrly rceks----so ancient, indeed, as to have been
traced DpOIl Achilles' shield, and described by Homer
precisely as it is now performed.

" A figured dance succeeds-


A (lOme!] band
Of youths and maidens bounding haud in hand,
The maids ill lIOn. cymars of linen dreat.
• • • • • • •
Now all at once thoy ri'Jc, at ()1lC(l deoccnd,
"With well-taught feet now slope in oblique ways,
Confus'dl), regular tho moving mnzn;
Now forth at once, too awif\ for sight they spring,
And undistinguialHxl blend tho flying ring j
So whirls lit wheel in giddy circles 1061.,
And rapid as it runs, tIm single spokes are lost."

P ass ou~ from Athens on t he evening of the 1st of


April, along the Pirreus road, until you reach the
temple of Theseus, at no great distance from Ule ascent
to the Acropolis. Near at hand is the IIill of Mars,
and the gently rising ground upon which is built the
oldest temple of hero-worship) stretches up to the
Pnyx. The- open space betweell, the agora of the
ancient Athen ians, is now converted into a field of
wheat. I have often "isited the spot when the silence
was unbrokcn nnd no hlllHl\ll bei ng was llcar) save the
guardian of the tcmplc and an Albanian shepherd,
watching big flock on the Hill of Mars.
!.IFE I!'> SERnA. 51
But on this occasion crowds of Athcniaus assemble
there long before the sun gilds with his departing rays
the P arthenon and ErccthellllJ, perched proudly on that
magnifioont l)edestal, the Acropolis. All Athens re-
pairs to this fabulous spot, as her citizens did centuries
ago, to listen to the harangues of hcr great orator.
You see before you a curious mosaic of all the
tribes and nntionnlities of Greece, but none of the gar-
lands and processions of ancient times. There are the
fi ne forms, the classic featurcs of Greek women, beau-
tiful enough to ha\'c served as models for the Caria-
tidca, and the splendid outlines of the Hellenic face,
united with a bearing which no one but a Greek can
assume. The aged Athenians repose on thc marble
seats ranged on the southern side of tllC temple of
Theseus-the scats said to have once been occupied by
the judges of thc Areopagus. The young mell are
thread ing the mazes ·of a dance, which is at Ollce
uniqlle, national, and historical. Ask one oj' thcm
why tllCY came there on that occasion, and thcy can
only tell you that it is in obedience to an ancicn t
custom. They only k now that their fathers did so
before them. But that is the ancient l~yrrhic dance
YOIl look upon, and the fate around the columns of the

temple of TheSClls shows how the usages of a people


can traverse centuries.
Let us change the seene from Athens to a city be-
yond the Danube, to Bnkarcst, the gay and luxurious


52 ROUlUN IA.

capital of Wa11achia. It iR evening, and there are also


merry groups assembled on the banks of the Dumho·
vitza. They, too, are dancing, but it is the lwra 1'O'U--
mane8ca to gipsy music. There are female figures of
bc\vitching grace and beauty, but the splendid forms
and dignified bearing of their companions remind us
strongly of the Latins. They also speak a language
that would have been understood by the rustic multi-.
tudes who thronged

" To see gTe8.t Pompey walk the atreet8 of Rome."

The Haemus, old Danubius, and the distance of many


hundred miles intervene between fair Italy and this an-
cient Dacian province. Seventeen centuries have elap-
sed since the tide of Roman conquest was swept back
by the waves of barbaric invasion, and yet the simple
dance of these Wallachian peasants brings before lUI
the most celebrated chorographic entertainment of the
andent Romans. Maidens and youths join hands and
form a large ring, in the ccntre of which are gipsy
musicians, called Lautari in the UmlJa rcmm.anuca.
One of the circle sings during the dance, and the
songs on these occasions, tenned lu)'I'a", as among the
Latins, are ofsingularforee and beauty. 'The ring of
dancers undulates from right to left and left to right;
and when it breaks up in a feigned melee, the young
men seize by the waist, and ooar away, the blushing
Lin: I's SERnA. 53
and stnlgglillg maidens, as tbeir Roman ancestors once
did the Sabine women.
Is it not strange that the simple customs of a
people should in this manner be made to endure
for ages J That which is most labored and heralded
forth with most pomp is not always remembered long-
est. In the quarries of Pcntelieus I deciphered names
carelessly scratched upon the marble walls by work-
men more than two thousand years ago. The slave
who hewed from the quarry the rough block has left
us at least the legacy of his name-far more, in many
instances, than he who chiselled it to a form of beauty,
and almost imparted life to the pnlseless stone.
The, student of history may not despise the song,
the dance, and the legend, embalming, as they fre-
quently do, the usages and sentiments of ancient times.
In them we usually catch the trnest reflection of the
11istory and social conditiou of a people. The literature
of bal1ads and legends, neither taught in schools nor
crowned by academies, how modestly it ]18S come
down to us f rom the ages, delighting with its music,
like a familiar bird, the household where it takes its

rest! Its materials, as rich and varied as those of the
tissues displayed in the bazaars of the Orient, Ilave been
collected and woven by unknown hands, it may 1l(J.ve
been under a. Bedouin tent-it may ]lave been in the
smoky cabin of the Northman.
No envions poet claims as his own these sweet inspi·
54 ROUlIAN I A.

rations that ha\"e leaped forth from the heart of tIle


p eople, as the water leaped from the rock under til..,
rod of Moses. Belonging t o all ''1'110 will listen to
them, to all who love the tender and the beautiful, they
vibrate in the air like the songs of birds. Full of naIf
conceptions and rnmTcIlous inventions they delight the
poor man at his humble hearth, mak e the aged smile,
awaken sentiments of 10\"0 and virtue, and strengthen
patriotism by the sonvenirs of glorions deeds.
The Scr vi:ms :U'e passionately fond of the song and
the dance. Their history is preserved in ballads and Irn-
ditiona, and the ordinary events of life areimp~edas
was once t he case among the Greeks. ",Vo would in fa ct
take them for descendants of the latter, were it not lor
the proofs of Slav ic origin in their 1311guage and his-
tory.
As one travels among the pastor tribes groups rise
before him resembling tableaux from the age and
country of Agamemnon. TIleir princes rule in the
manner of Homer's princes; their heroes sup in the
manner of Homer's heroes; their chiefs assemble round
their hospodars like the kings of the Iliad round the
"king of men j" ·their youth exercise themselves in th e
sports and games of the Grecian youth.
Among the mountains of Servia I have seen many a
worthy successor of the blind old bard ofIos, and where
a Slavic woman" is," says Shaffarik, "there is also song.
House and yard, .mountain and valley, meadow and
LIFE IN SERVIA. 55

forest, she fill s tll(lm all with the Bounds of hel'


voicc."
"The poetry of the Servians is most admirably inter-
woven wiUI their daily life. It is the picture of their
thoughts, fe elings, actions, and sufferings; it is the
mental reproduction of the respective conditions of the
mass of individuals who compose the nation. The hall
where the women sit spinning around the fireside, the
mountains on which the boys pasture their flocks, the
square where the village youth assemble to danee the
Wlo, the plains where the harvest is realled, the fOI·est
through which the lonely traveller j Ollmeys, all resound
with song. Song accompanies all kinds of busi ness,
Rnd frequently relates to it. The Servian lives his
poctry."*
Among theServians, the institution of " the family"
retains its primitive character, every household being
in itself an entire community. In the villages, pictu-
resquely situated on the borders of the streams, or for
greater security concealed in the fastnesses of the moun-
tains, the low rude dwellings arc at a distance from
each other, and of such a size, that one not unfre-
qnently forms an entire street. Around the main
room, which contains a hearth in the centre, are cham-
bers for the younger married people. I ron is scarcely
used in the erection of Ser vian dwellings, chimneys and
wiildows are rare, the well-trodden earth serves for a
• TaIVl.
56 ROUMANIA.

floor, while the loam walls and ba.rk roof are )lackencd
with soot and smoke. The father is the pa.'riarch of
the family . 'When he dies, one of the sons appointed
by his brethren, becomes master of the house. All the
members of the family work and eat together, sharing
each other's joys, and alike independent of the world
for support. Individual interest is merged in that of
the family. Paternal and filial affection arc strong:
the brother is the chosen protector of the sister, of
whom he is the joy and the pride.
Man-iage is arranged by the fathers of the two
families. At her new abode the young bride dresses
an inf.mt, touches the walls with a distaff, and spreads
a table with food, wine, and water. Her mouth is
sealed by a piece of sngar, indicating that she should
utter only what is good. For a whole year she is
termed the "betrothed." In the presence of others
she scarccly converses with her husband.
Every family has a patron saint, and the whole
year is a round of festivals and sacred rites. They pray
three times a day j and at table no person Ycnturcs 10
accept the place of honor without being able to illl'
provise an a})prol)riate expression of thanks.
Endowed with an active imagination, the Serviaus
believe in the existence of a multitude of supernatural
beings, of hideous yampircs fond of devouri ng human
hearts, and of beautiful, though malignant vilaiJ, min·
gling their swect voices with the mnrmll!'S of torrents,
57

flitting with magic wings throug h the depths of the


forests, or leading their nocturnal dances on the hanks
of the mountain streams.
Ravens are regarded 88 the messengers of unhappy
news.

" F1yieg came , pAir of ooal black ranM,


F ar 11'"1 from tho broad Held or ll iWnr;
F ill' !'rom Shablltz, from tho high white fortress;
Blood,. were lheir '-11:1 unto \be eyelids,
Bloody were their taIolll \0 th e anklH."
CHAPTER III.

LA PORTE DE FER.

"We build with what we deem eternal rock,


A future age asks wheffl the structure stood."

I WOULD gladly have remained long in Servia, to enJOY


its magnificent mountain scenery, and study the naIf
customs of its people, but the battle fields and pyra-
mids of the Orient eaBed me away. Though very hos-
p itahle, many of the Servians with wilQm I came in
contact, especially at Belgrade, regarded my inquisitive
curiosity Witll a certain degree of suspicion.
The rigorous quarantine formerly maintained be-
tween Austria and Servia is no longer kept IIp_ The
custom-house at Belgrade reminded me of a description
of a similar institution in Constantinople by a fri end,
familiar with the East.
"The floor ofthc governmental edifice was nowhere
visible. Avftlanchcs of assorted goods occupied every
point, but with the lUost sublime irregularity. L:u-ge
and ponderous boxes crushed small and weaker ones,
heavy and cum brOilS bal es damaged fragile parcels,
barrels chnf(ld ngnin st sacks, chests miSllsed trunks, and
I.A PORTE Of, FE:R. 59

everything seemed bent on doing ns great an injury


as possible to e\'(~rything else."*
It was a beaut.iful August eYenillg when we em-
barked on the steamer at Semlin for 01'80Va, about
ninety miles Lelow. Aftel' the confluence of the Save
the Danube expands to a great width, embosoming a
number of woody islands. My eyes clung to Belgrade,
that old city of combats and siege!), until in the hazy
distance hel' minan'is and ramparts sank beneath the
placid surface of the river. There were views on the
Servian bank worthy (If pictnresqne An'a in North-
ern Hungary.
We remained over night at a German settlement
on the Austrian side. Whole districts in Lower Hun-
gary and Transylvania have been settled by emigrants
from the German States, welcomed thither by the
Magyars, and l)ermitted to ret...in their language and
institntions, a circumstance which has been adroitly
turncd to account by the honse of H apsburg. Gcne-
rosity has ever been the fault of the TIungarians, and
their history a perpetual martyrdom! On the broad
plains surrounded by boulevards of lofty mountains,

"Where struggled Arpad's gnllant crew,"

they were content in developing their free institutions,


never ambitious of foreign conquest, Dnd unmindful of
the maxim of Corneille,

• R. C. McCQnnick, J r.


GO r:OI:.\1A:>I,\,

"C'est la m(>r que donne l'cmpire."

Below Semlin, 011 tile Ilullgadan side of the river, I


noticed at short intervals the statious of the border
guard, sentinelled at all times and at night indicated
by gleaming fires. This military guard, extending along
the whole Turkish frontier ot' Hungary, is capable of
furni shing, in case of emergency, two bundred thousand
men. The territory is under military rule. Every
male is destined to be a soldier, and the land is cul-
tivated by families of many persons, under the direc-
tion of a patriarch.
Groups of passengers, exhibiting a remarkable
diversity of costumes and languages, assembled 011
deck to enjoy the beautiful evening. 1 made the
acquaintance of' a gay youllg \ Vallachiall, named Aria-
tias, just returning from his medical studies in Paris, a
Freneh offieer on his way to tile East, and Reschid
Effendi, secretary of Sami Pacha, from W iddin. A
Hungarian poet says that his unfortunate country con-
tains people of every European race i and in the great
hall of the Uni versity of Vienna, I have onen counted
the representati\'cs of twenty·five diffcrent nations.
As we steamed dvwn the Danube the following
morning, the scenery became beautiful, then surpass-
ingly grand. The well-wooded llills 011 either side, the
forerulIllCrs of the Balkans and Cal·patilians, rose into
rugged mountains, between which the narrowed Dan·
ube rushed and surged into thegl"cat'Yallachian plain,



LA POlIn: D1-: FER .

fur awtly toward the Eu.\iue. Below the islanu of'


Moldova, a huge black rock projects from the bosom
of the ri\·er, \IPOIl which ajealous Turk is said to have
left his suspected bride, saying to her, "Bahakai 1
baba/.:ai I" (repent! rcpent!) a name which has been
applied to the rock itself'. Ncar by, is the cavern of
Golumbntz where St. George is bel ieved to have slain
the dragon from whose body, still decaying, proceed
swamIs of noxious flies.
High on the rocks above arc the p icturesque ruins
of Golnmbatz, whose crumbling towers seem just ready
to fall into the abyss below.
And now the steamer rushes in to the most ll}agnifi-
cent gorge in Europe, if not in the world. Here, as
if in anger, the grizzly mountains seem to shake their
hoary heads at each other across the foaming tOITCnt,
and there, smile at each other in emborollled lakes,
fl"Om wlaich can be seen no point of ingress or egress.
In one place the eye is greeted with soft vistas and
idyllic retreats, in another it looks upon tlt~ semblance
of battlements and cathedral towers. H ow grandly
tho echoes die away among these glorious . mountains!
Now we dart down the narrow foam-crcswd rapids, and
then float away calmly betwoon retreating heights.
This kind of scenery continues for a distance of
seventy milcs_ Neal' tile lofty peak of Sterbetz, front-
ing the Danube with a wall of rock three thousand
ihe hundred feet high, is the Cave of Vetcrani, cele
62 ROt:lfANIA.

brated in the wars of tile Christians and Turks. On


the Anstrian side of ~he river is the new road, built at
a great expense by the Austrians j and on the opposite
side, I noticed in many places the remains of Trajan's
Way. A tablet hewn into the solid rock bears a
Latin inscription commemorative of this stupendous
work. Rnde fishennen now huild their fires on the
spot. At Orsova we took a small barge to pass the
Iron Gate, the most dangerous rapids in the Lower
Danube, the river falling thirteen feet in three quarters
of a mile. Just below the Austrian frontier was
pointed out to me the place where Kossuth concealed
the Hungarian crown in 1849.
Towards suuset we reached Turonl Severin, on the
left bank of the river, nearly opposite t.he Servian
village of Fetti·Jslam. There we found the Austrian
steamer which was to con vey us down to Rnstebuk.
Some of my company strolled up to the village, con.
sisting of a few wretched Wallachian huts percbed
llpon the neighboring hill. Alone, I wandered down
the river bank to the ruins of Trajan's Bridge.
A few minutes' walk brought me to the ruins. Here
the conqueror of Dacia executed one of those gigantic
projects with which all similar efforts of modern enter-
prise in this part of the world can scarcely be compar·
cd. The lowest stone bridge over the Danube is at
Ratisbon, where the river is but a few yards in width,
but Tr~ian spanned the noble stream atTnmnl Severin
LA l'OnTF. DE n:n. 03
neady a thousand miles nearer its month, with the
longest structure 01' the kind ever erected, it being,
according to the mcasurement of Marsigli, almost three
thousand feet from shore to shore.
Trajan's Bridge was built during the Emperor's
second campaign to the lower Danube, when, After
roany reverses to the legions and a reeent revolt 01' the
Dacians, he rosolved effectually to subdue those stub-
born enemies of Rome. Apollodorus, of Damascus,
was the architect. Dion Cassius hAs left a description
of this remarkable structure, parts of which have
withstood the floods lind ice of seventeen centuries.
Twenty piers sixty teet wide, one hundred and fifty
feet high, and nearly one hundred feet apart, sustained
the enormous weight. Some authors maintain that the
upper portions ot' the bridge were of wood. The cur-
rent, at this point, is slow and regular. The level
spaces at both ends of the bridge were well adapted to
the marshalling ot' the legions. The massive towers
ereeted there, served to protect it from the attacks
of the barbarians. A few of the truncated piers and
abutments of solid masonry arc still to be traced by
the curions traveller. In 1844, a number of IIrms and
rare utensils were found in the vicinity, wllich shed
no little light upon the camp life of the RomilllS.
Trajan's Bridge, like Trajan's Wa.y, was constructed
for military purposes, and stood only so long as the)
Romans maintained their sway 0 11 the left. shore of
Gi ROU~IANI.\.

the Danube. Hadrian, the snccessor of Trajan, de-


stroyed the splendid monument of his predeceesof
but a few years after it had been built.
Near at hand werc the scattered ruins of the citadel
of TbeodoTUs, crected by Justinian, and of great im-
portance in the wars of the Romans and barbarians.
But more imposing are the ruins of the crumbling
tower of Scvcrinns, half a milc from the site of'
Trajan's Bridge. This structure, famous in earlier
times, was built by Sevarinns, governor of Mceeia,
about 240 A. D. All that remains, after the ravages
of time and the barbarians, is a lofty and tottering
portion of the ancient wall, situated on an artificial
elevation and partly surrounded by a f08M wh0&6 two
extremities unite with the Danube. The moat is grown
up with small trees and underbrush, and the tower
itself partially concealed from sight by the thick foliage.
At its base is a large marble sarcophagus. I clambered
up the ruin as far as possible, just as the sun was
flinging his last golden glances over the grizzly crests
of the Carpathians. How full of glory was his de-
parture, fringing with sapphire edges the dark clouds
that floated so tranquilly in thc western sky, and
bathing the mountain tops in seas of moist mellow light I
The twinkling stars found me seated on the tower
of Severinus, reflecting upon the magnitude of that
ancient power the sites of whose camps and cities I
have traced along the Rhinc and the Rhone, the Nile
LA PORT1-; DE FER. 65
and the Jordan. Rome ill1})al·ted somC'~'hat .)f her
own greatness to the most distant p rovinces conquered
by her WlllS. Surely it was a glorious thing to build
up, in those barbaric ages, an empire whose laws and
systems stililiurvive for the government of mankind, and
whose public works, stupendous in their mins, serve, ill
our feebler efforts, as models of stl-ength and beauty!
Honor enough was it even for the conquered nations,
to share the glory of the Roman name.
In the gathering mists of the evening, I conjured lip
before me the scenes and cvents of former times. I
peopled thc valley of old Dauubius once morc as in the
days of Traj an. I restored the falien arches which
spanned the river, and rebuilt, in imagination, the
ancient towers. The sound of rushing waters floating
down from the Iron Gate seemed like the distant tramp
of legions, and the yoices of evening were not unlike
the softened din of camps and villages. But when the
moon rose above the Wallaehian hills, fi lli ng the wo.·ld
with pearly light, the fair vision disappeared, and
again I saw but rllins and fragments of Mlins.
Turunl Severin being too poor to furnish an iun, I
retuMled to sleC}) Oil board the steamer. She was built
after an American model and funlished in the Ameri·
can style, with the except.ion of ollr ample berths and
state rooms. There were but four of the latter, and
thosc on the main deck. IIow gratif,i ng to see the
genius and enterprise of my countrymen acknowledged
66

in these remote I'CgiOlt;, "Nothing is impossible with


811American," has become an axiom in Eastern Europe.
W e dined at the tabU d'lWte in the French style,
or a La carte upon German dishes. Conversation
was carried on in F rench, German, Hungarian, Dlyrinn.
Turkish, and Wallachi:m. The last has a great simi-
larity to the Italian ill the sounds of the letters, and
especially in the smooth open :flow of the vowels. The
Hungarians, whose language is cognate with the Turk-
ish, arc excellent linguists. This results from the fact
that they arc accustomed from childhood to speak Ger-
man in addition to their vernacular. Proficiency in
acquiring languages is dependent less upon memory
or a peculiar talent, than upon the habit of express-
ing the same thoughts in diffcrellt idioms. The edu-
cated R nssiulls are) however) the best linguists in the
world. A nobleman) who rarely speaks the native
Russ, will converse fluently in the polished tongues of
W estern Europe. The bnguage of the Russians is said
to contain not only all the sounds of the latter, bnt also
many of those peculiar to the speech of the Orientals.
Late in the evening) the cabin .of' the Albrecht
underwent a marvellous" sea-change," the divans, set-
t.ees, and even the tables beillg magically converted
into comfortable beds.
It was amusing to see Turks ill twisted turbans,
Gennans in night-caps, white-coated Austrians, and
well-booted Magyars, Sct'lians and W·alJnchs, Jews and
07

Gentiles, lying down quietly together, I\S if the mil·


lennium had dawned in the close, dimly lighted saloon
of the Albrecht. But more amusing was it to l isten to
the cacophonia of fifty noses of all sizes, nationalities,
shades of color an J vuricties of tonc. Snoring scemed
contagions; I could only liken the saloon to a vast
::eolian harp, or to an orchestra of dead men, playing
funeral di rges upon the han;hcst wind instruments. I
fancied that I could trace in their monotonons discords
the influence of wine, and love and sorrow, of night-
mare visions from distended stomachs, and of beautiful
dreams weaving their golden threads in the gossamer
tissues of the brain. It was in vain that I covered my
head and stopped my ears. More than once during the
long watches, I left the hot and mephitic cabin to enjoy
on deck the sweet inflnences of night and of the 8tm'S.
The aversion of the Germans. to fresh air is incom-
prellCllsible.
I became not a little interested in a heavy sleeper
in the other end of the saloon, whom I remembered to
have seen in Vienna. He was of the sable people who
rank cooking among tllC liberal arts-

, A croatUr<l or one mighty sense,


Conceutruted impudence."

Brought from the region of the Upper Nile when a


child, he had been sold by a dealer in eunuchs to an
Egyptian _of rank. and 'In the denth of the latter, by
68 ROUMANIA.

some C8l)l"lCC of fortune, Willj exposed for sale in the


slave market of Constantinople. The Nubian became
the property of a pacha who was then commanding on
the SerYiall frontier. After a time they were surprised
by the Servians at night and made prisoners. TIle
eunuch was retained as a part of the spoils, and having
made a favorable impression upon Prince Milosch,
became his attendant, and afterwards his physician.
The Nubian's acquaintance with channs and sp<llls and
the secret arts of the Turkish hakeems, was entirely
satisfactory to old Prince Milosch, who could neither
read nor write, having been a swine-herd in his youth.
Here the sable disciple of Esculapius enjoyed mally
smiles of fortune, until the expulsion of tho prince
from Servia, when he took refuge with his patron in
Wallachia.

CHAPTER IV.

STJo:A.MlNO DOWN THE ISTER.

"Sons of inanity,
Smoke and vanity.H

1 WAS on deck at an early hour the next morning to


see the snn rise above the Wallac11ian hills. At my
right wete the Balkans. To\';rcring with clear sharp
outlincs against the southern sky, they bend away
from the Iron Gat.e toward the distant Euxinc, a con-
tinuous chain of forest-capped giants. In like manner,
at the north, sweep away the Carpathians, surpas&-
ing, if possible, their southern rivals in hoary magni-
ficence. The two chaim, inclosing Bulgaria and 'Val-
lachia, fonn a grand amphitheatre, where successive
hordes of barbarians first appeared on the stage of
Europe to open the ever-changing scenes of her his-
tory. It was (1Il the plains of thc lower Danube that
the legions of Cyrus melted away like SIIOW beneath
the arrows of the Scythians--Uwre Alexander the
Great fought the barbarians of the north-there mil-
lions of men perishnd in thc early wars of the Chris-
tians and the Turks; and on that terrain, in the oracu-
lar lanh. . . l3ge of Napoleon, "the destiny of Europe is yct
70 ROU1{,L"'TA.

to be determined." The Danube baving received the


great rivers of Hungary, and lashed with its myriad
streams the Tyrolean and Norican Alps, rests below
the Iron Gate like a tired giant, and falls away to the
Euxinc, "a broad, silent, magnificent river."
The morning air was of It.alian softness. Filmy
clouds of vapor l1Ung over the lazy river in places
shaoowed by the mountains, like flocks of white-
breasted swans, or timid spirits that flee from light
to the realms of darkness. H ow daintily they danced
away over the moving waters, as if the mists loved
the crystal drops from which the sun had set them
free. The wavy cornfields on the Servian hills had
already a golden hue, indicating the climate to be
more friendly than on the slope of the Carpathians.
On the Servian bank opened fine vistas of villages half
concealed in a sea of verdure, and hills blushing with
purple vineyards. How beautifully the great river
took upon her bosom t.he shadows of the forests and
mountains, and trcmblingly pictured them there with
all their finery of green and gold!
A few well bearded Turks, smoking their chibouqlle8
in Pythagorean silcnce, and myself, were the only per-
SOM 011 deck to enjoy the changing landscape as the
stcamer glided between the su uken piles of Trajan's
Bridge. As we advanced, the mOlmtains receded from
the rinlr, and the Wallaehian shore became low and
sterile. The Danube makes a great bend below 'l'llmlll
11
Severin, and for some time we were steaming westward
toward the lofty Stcrbctz, the silent spectator of so
many contests between the Occident and the Orient.
A few wretched villages wue passed, and the steamer
tOllched at Rll.kovitza, where the river Timrok, forming
the boundary between Servia and Bulgaria, flows into
the Danube.
Three hours more, and Reschid Effendi pointed Ollt
to me a succession of sandhills on the W allachian side
of the Danube, dotted here and there with trees and
spots of verdure. Those who have coasted along Cape
Cod have aeen precisely the counterpart of the desolate
region around Cetate, the place where the Turks under
Achmet Paeha gave the Russians a terrible blow during
the campaign of Kalafat, neither party asking or g iving
quarter. The wretched village, destined hereafter to
have a name in history, is situated at the base of
the sandhills, a mile and a half from the ri\'er, and
consists of a dozen or more mud hovels and subterra-
nenn cabins. fusehid Effendi assured me that tIle field
of slaughter was still covered with the garments and
skeletons of the unburied dead, upon whom swine and
vultures had feasted for weeks. TIle officers had been
plundered of their watches, and finery of apparel; and
hands and fingers were still fOllnd strewn about, brutally
cut off for the diamond rings which other soft fingers
had put upon them witl} tender wishes in hal)pier days!
Cetate is hardly passed before, t urning to the south,
72 R.... V)IA..'1 IA.

the minarets lmd fortifications of W iddin come fully


into view. The Danube here makes a sudden bend
southward so as to form a kind of semicircle, and the
high sand banks on the W allachian shore shut out for
a few minutes the distant view.
At their base I noticed the blackened walls of a n
establishment-\\"hcre a few months previous swine had
been slanghtered for exportation to England-of which
the pious bashi-bazouks had left scarcely onc stone
upon another. The passcllgers nesemblcd on the deck
to view what, during the previous winter months, bad
attracted more attention than any other spot on the
globe. A moment more, and the world-renowned for-
tifications of Kalafat rose before Ollr eyes. The works
Oll the highest point of land first made till;li r appearance,
and then a long, black linc, running from hillock to
hillock, and here and tllCrc changing its direction, be-
came visible on the horizon. The line of fortifications,
six thonsand paces in length, swept round to the nortll-
west, so as again to meet the D anube. I cannot say
whether I was more stmck with the extent of these
celebrated works, crowning the hills and terminating
in t\ro st rong fort-s: the onc above and the other far
below W iddin, or by the loneliness which everywhere
prevailed. TIlree months before my visit Kalafst had
been Occllpied by 50,000 men, and its long Jines of
entrenchments bristled with hl1tl(lJ·cds of hcavy cantlon :
then it was as naked as lhe desert of Sahara. It was
HTEA.'!l:>G DOWN TilE ISTER. 73

frightful from very solitude to wander among the


deselted works. Not a soldier, not even a bashi-bazouk
was to be seen. The skeletons of many of those who
had died in camp or fallen in the frequent skirmishes
with the enemy were strewn upon tJIC uneven ground,
the snme as at Cetate.
,Vhen mnn loses the best clmracteristics of his
nature and assumes those of 0. savage, the very brutes
seem to become humanized as if to shame him of his
folly. A mong the deserted works of Kalnfat, so deso-
late that scarcely anyone ventured to approach them ,
I found a number of lean and famished dogs which
had followed their masters thither, it may have been
from the wilds of Asia; and neither hunger nor soli-
tnde could fMce the faith ful creatures to leave the spot
where they hnd lain themselves down to die. I t is a
terrible commentary on the miseries of the camp that
fifteen thonsand Turkish soldiers died from disease and
wounds within the walls of Kalafut. Patient Mussul-
mans-and who so patient as they ~-beeame raving
maniacs from very suffering. A surgeon who was
stntioned there has described to me scenes of p riva-
tion, which far surpass anythi ng related of the 'fen
Thousand who retreated from Asia.
The Turk is a fatalist in view of sufferings, wounds,
and death, otherwise the fi fty thousand soldiers at
Kalalat would not have endured the terrible campaign
of 1853-4.
lWUMANlA..

The Mussulman will not subm it to surgical opera-


tions, and consequently but one amputation took
place during the entire siege, when judicious medi-
cal treatment might have saved thousands of lives.
Of the three hundred wounded sent over to Widdin
after the battle of Cetate, but five ever recrossed the
rIver.
Widdiu, the head of a Paehalik and the residence of
a Greek Bishop, was a place of considerable importance
in the time of the Romans. It is a genuine Turkillh
city, with a. population of 25,000 souls. Although
picturesque in the distance, its magnificence, like that
of everything in the Orient, disappeared as we ap-
proached. The walls of an immensc fortress linc tho
river's edge for a considerable distancc. Scarcely a
sentinel could be seen, but the long lines of Turkish
cannon showed that Sami Paeha had not been idle
during the campaign. A few Turkish vessels, rivalling
Chinese junks in awkwardness of appearance, lay along
the beach. Beside the foI1ress were pitched the tents
of a horde of gipsics. The shore was lined with 8.
ragged, fez-capped multitude, composed chiefly of fero-
cious-looking Arnouts and bashi-bazouks, some of
them mOWlted on sorry horses and others a-foot, or
seated cross-legged in the mud and sand. Their
tents were even more despicable than those of the
gLpSICS.
Should a dozen steamers land their passengers
STLUll!,;"G vow:; THE ISTER. 75

together At OM of the piers of New York, the ·confu.


sion would hardly exceed that which took place when
the A lbrecht stopped at Widdin. The Turk is usually
silent, but on occasion can make more noise than a
score of unbelievers. As soon as the guard was opened
a crowd of barbarians rushed upon deck, carrying
boxes, sacks, and all the cumbrous appUances of 8
Turk's travelling equipage.
The few soldiers stationed on the narrow wooden
pier for the purpose of keeping order serve ouly to
increase the confusion. The ragged multitude shout,
jabber, and quarrel in a dozen different languages,
and those in &uthority wield their batons lustily over
the backs of the scrambling wretches.
While this was going OR I took a short ramble
in Widdin with Reschid Effendi. There were the
mosques, the cemeteries with broken columns and the
funereal cypress, the rows of huts, the muddy lanes,
the ~ogs, and the listless idleness which characterize
every Turkish city. I drank a friendly 8alaam
with R.csehid in a dingy calmS, regretting that I
could not ayail myself of his invitation to yisit SaUli
Paeha.
Several Beys and high Tnrkish officers, with ser--
vants and pipe-bearers, came on board to join the
troops below. Turkish servants usually receive from
their masters no more than their food and clothing,
a circumstance which explains the number of attend~
76 ROUlI.AN l A..

ants generally seen about Ottomans of rank. The din


began to cease, and after an hour's delay, the Albrecht
proceeded on her voyage.
Steaming down the ancient Ister, every hour carried
me further within the portals of the sul try Orient. Be-
low ' Viddin, the D anube varies from half a mile to two
miles in width, and rolls away to the E uxine, as calm
and sluggish as the pale rivers of the N orth. 'The long
reaches of the Amazon could scarcely have been more
monotonous, as hour after hour we held on our winding
course. Multitudes of cranes and pelicans, frightened
from their grotesque positions by the splash of the
steamer, took refuge in the W allachian swamps, while
an occasional eagle from the Carpathians wheeled
nbove us in airy circles, undistUIbed by the presence
of man.
Here and there the northern shore is fringed with
immense morasses, the home of wolves, and bears, and
poisonous miasmas. Beyond, stretches away the low
W allachian plain, a magnificent field for the moving
of armies ; and in the far distance the eye I!()metimes
catches sight of the gentle und ulations which swell
into the Carpathians. The vast level tracts of Daco-
Romania are connected with the Steppes of Beesarabia,
and are open to the winds that sweep across the plains
of Southern Russia.
R ising, ill several instances, to the height of six
thousand feet, the Carpathians form an almost uninter-
STEAMING DOWN TIlE l STER • 77

rupted chain to the eastward, until they are broken
through by t he Alnta. 111is river, flowing down from
the elevated valley of Transylvania, rushes through the
pass of the Red Tower, and in its eOUl1;e to the Danube
divides Little from Great Wallaehia. Midway from
the Aluta to the Pruth, the Carpathians deflect. sud-
denly northward, and form the boundary between Mol-
davia and the land of the Secklers. Great Wallachia,
as well as Moldavia, is crossed by several rivers, as the
Argisch and Seretl!. Among the head waters of the
Bistritza, some of the mOllntain peaks, as Pion fin (l
Tsehakleo, reach above the limits of the oak and pine
into the region of snow, and icc, and Alpine plants.
Several spnrs f!"Om the princi})al chain extend down
into Wallacllia, among which arc many beautifnl lakes
united by crystal streams with the Danube. \Vhen the
swarms of Goths and H tllS pitched tJleir rude encamp-
ments along the Ister, the Daco-Romans were fre·
quently obliged to take refuge in the fastnesses of the
Carpathians. Thithcr they earricd their language and
their institutious, prepared to rcturn again to the fCl1ile
plains, where the conflicting waves of civi lization and
barbarism often meet each other, as the ocean current
meets the ocean stonn. Strange Nemesis tllat control led
the destiny of those early nomadic races! 'Yollderful,
indeed, the fluctuations and changes of their llistory,
rising and fading away in the dim past like dissolving
YICWS.
78 ROU) I A~IA •


Far differ ent is tho scenery on the Bulgarian side.
Widdin is situated 011 a small plain, but the barren
hills in its rear soon sweep round, as if they loved the
Danube, and form a splendid natural defence to a con·
siderablc distance below Silistria, where t he ri ver sud-
denly bends northward, and the Dobnldscha becomes as
low and swampy as the 'Vallachian shore. This con-
tinuous bluff, three hundred miles in length, and vary-
ing from thirty to one h undred and fi fty feet in height,
rests upon a calcareous base. In some places t he
Danube is flanked for miles with a pe'1)cndicular wall
of limestone, while in others the bl ll ff retires from the
shore a short distance, g iving place to dclightflll l ittle
eyots grown up with tall grass, in which droves of
tame buffaloes or white Bulgal·iall oxen were occasion-
ally to be seen, as we swept along.
The action of water, assisted, perhaps, by otber
natural causes, has worn the Bulgarian hills into cu-
rious and fantastic shapes, having, in many instances,
the exact resemblance of military works. High walls
of earth stretch along the river or crown the rocky
eminences as evenly and regularly as if they were
artificial, while here and there natural forts, and
parapets, and towers look as if the g iants had been
at work in piling up immense fortresses to defend
Old Danubius. I can now appreci ate the tremen-
dous efforts which the Turks have repeatedly made
to protect the Bulgarian ShOI·C against the Rn!iSians
STF.,\ ~II"'O DOWN TilE ISTER. '19

in preference to falling back UpOIl the line of the


Balkans.
Peculiarly favored and unfortunate have been
the regions along the Rhine and the Danube. The
fonner of these rivers, rising among the Alps, and
flowing many huudreds of miles to the sea through
the noblest portion of Europe, the German, in his
admiration, calls the "Father of Rivers." Yet no
traveller can wander among the walled towns und
cities which line its banks, without seeing how vastly
inferior the Rheingau is to the central parts of France
and Gennany in eve~ythiIlg but natural advantages.
Those battered walls and crumbling towers have !\
wild story of their own. History tells of scenes of
violence and deeds of war that have occurred there
ever sinee tJle Ubii and Sicambii lived on opposite
sides of the river, and Roman camps and colonies were
planted among the rude nations of Germania. The
position of the Rhine provinces between belligerent
powers has counterbalanced many of their natural ad-
vantages. At short intervals of peace their prosperity
has been almost unpara11eled. No part of Europe WIIS
so flourishing during the Hanseatic league; no part of
Europe has suffered so much, and so often, from the
incursions of foreign armies.
Owing to the diseases which at certain seasons
prevail along the lower Danube, but more than all
else to the calamities of war, that magnificent ri ver
80 ROUMAN lA.

has thus far been the enemy rather than the friend
of the nations inhabiting its banks. The nume-
rous islands which, in a country like our own, would
have long ago become great commercial marts, are, .
almost without an exception, uninhabited wastes ;
while ill places where the traveller expects to sec
smiling towns and cities, he fi nds nothing but silence
and solitude. l'hc fever, plague, and the mutual fear
of Turks and Christians, have, for the most part, kept i n
desolation one shore and the other. Immense regions
alollg the lower Danube, once the busy theatre of R o-
man life and industry, arc now inhabited by a few
Scrvian fishennen and "\Vallachian shepherds.
In the crowd of M ussulmans who took passage on th e
steamer, I soon learned to distinguish the E uropeanized
from the geuuine Asiatic. The latter, the Moslems of
the old school, retain the magnificent wh ite turban fold-
ed in the ancient Moslem style, the broad girdle serving
as a receptacle for weapons, p iastres, or other personal
effects, and those wonderful pantaloons, so ample below
the waist, and so llarroW above the ankle, as if pnrposc-
ly desib'1led to give the wearer an inexpressibly awkward
appearance. The tailors' shears indicate how far the
ideas of the West have gained accep tance among the
faithful. The till·bans become reduced to the close-
fitting fez, the baggy parts contract in size, the g irdle
disappears, the French coat takes the place of tile
cumbrous gown, and infidel boots supplant tile shuffl in g
STEA)[J:\G DOWN T1Il; lSTER. 81
yellow siippcrs, so easy to be cast off when the MUSSlll-
man squats upon his crooked legs, or rubs his foreheild
upon the ground in prayer. I was delighted with the
opportunity to study the eharactel-lstics of those well
bearded Orientals who still mailltained the letter and
the spirit of the Koran. It was a great pleasure tc
look upon theil· noble countenances, so honest, so digni-
fied, so unmoved by all that was passing :J.l"OlInd them
Cross-legged on little mats spread upon the deck,
they smoked their 10ngcMbouques in silence, or collected
in groups, withont leaving their national posture, con-
versed in low and earnest tones of voice, but with a
gravity unknown to the politicians of the West, how-
ever trivial the subject. There js something genuin('
in the politeness of these Orientals. They nevel· tread
lIpon each other's toes, or interrupt each other's con-
versation. Haste, they So'\y, comes of Satan, and pa-
tience is the key of reason. How different the conduct
of the Europeanized Moslems! They lounged in the
saloon, dined at the public table upon dishes declared
by the Komn to be unclean, and drank as freely of the
purple juice of the g rape, as if" the Prophet had never in-
t erdicted its use. " Wine, tobacco, coftee and opium,"
say the Oriental poets, "are the four cllshions of the
sofa of pleasure, and the chief elements of the world
of enjoyment," whilst the strict interpl·eters of the law
declare them to be "the ministers of Satan, and the
fOllr pillars of the temple of lieenti.onsncss. " Still mor~
4'
82

interesting to me was a bevy of Turkish females.


Tbey came on board at Nicopolis. Who they were
or whither they werc going I did not venture to in-
quire of the Mussulman, who looked jealous enough to
be the husband of the entire company. They spread a
carpet in all unfrequented comer of the deck, and
while some took care of the children, crowned with the
Turkish fez, although too yonng to lisp the name of
the Prophet, others laughed and chatted with each
other, lowly of course when Giaour Can! were listen-
ing, hut loud enough to show that woman is woroan
the wide world over. I was not a little surprised to
see some of the elderly females smoking quite as dili-
gently as their lords, and it was C11ri01l8 to ohservethem
handling their slender, amber-t.ipped cbibouquee, 80
as not to show their faces. W"ith most of them bot
little was lost by the use of The all-obscuring veil.
The eye is the window of the BOul, but by no means
the index of beauty or deformity, and hence I wonder
that the Turkish veil lias not been introduced into
other lands, where persons wish to appear more beauti·
ful than Nature intended them to be. If it is the
iutention of swcct-eyed Zulcika to convert an ugly
into a handoomc face, docs she not show muell better
sense in using for that purpose a preparation of silk
or cotton, than ou r COllsin Amanda who unifonnly em-
ploys a preparation of c1181k 1 One or two of the
'furL.--ish females were really beautiful, a fact which

, s'p .... _ _
."


«
STEA~IING DOWN T ilE ISTER. 83

they naturally djd not wish to conceal, for tho curiosity


and vanity of woman arc beyond restraint. I made
free to cultivate the acquaintance of a young Mussulman
butafcw months old, to the great llOITor of his N ubian
nurse, whose pouting IiI)S showered a stream of impre-
cations upon my beardless chin: b ut the mother, who
appeared to be a person of family, seemed delighted to
have me pult the cheeks, and tickle the ribs of the
laughing boy. If you would gain the mother's heart
speak kindly to her child. I have observed dmt Turk-
ish parents treat their children with I)Ccnliar t enderness.
The mothers usually nourish their own offspring, but
when from necessity that duty devolves upon a female
slave, the latter is entitled to her freedom. One is wit-
ness of many strange things among the Moslems, but
I have yet to see a Turkish mother airing an ugly dog
in her anns, her cherub of an infant at the same time
given over to a nurse trudging along bellind.
Notwithstanding the many patriarchal institutions
of the Turks, that of the fa mily can hardly be said to
exist among them. There is no SUell thing as colJecting
around the family fi reside, the tabl e, or the altar. The
husband cats by himself, and is waited IIpon by hii,1
wives, who make their meal upon what remains. TIl{!
household is merely an agqregation of persons.
The birth of an infant, however, is an important
event in a Turkish household, especially ifit be a male.
Then the doors are thrown open, friends come in to
84 lWl.iMAXIA .

congratulate the father and mother, the parents can
hardly find words for their joy, and there is no end w
the rejoicings and festivities. Is it a fcmalc1 the father
hangs his head, the mother is grieved, the friends keep
away; all regard it as a SOI"C infliction of PI"Ovidencc,
and the less that is suid about the unfortunate affair the
better. One of the first duties to be l)cnol1Dcd on the
birth of a child is to whispCI" into its right car, " There
is but one God, and Mohammed is his prophet." The
father names the sons, the mother the daughters. The
Moslem law prohibits the mother from weaning her
child before the age of two years without the consent
of the father, which, however, is IIsunll)" given a fe w
months carli cr.
After circumcision the fathel' instruets his son III
the manner of making the ablutions and prayers. The
P rophet enjoins that male children be taught to pray at
the agc of seven years, and recommends the usc of the
rod if they are not proficient at the agc of ten. Very
few, howcver, pray before reaching maturity, and then ,
I am afraid, tllCir prayers J"luely ascend higher than
their heads.
,Vc tarried ~l short time at Lorn Palanka, alld also
at Nicopolis. The cities built by the Slaves along the
lowe,· Danube, on the sites of the old Roman camps,
consisted originally of three distinct parts, the grad or
fortress, occupying the most elevated position j the
varoach, or lower city, the qnarte]· of the merchants
STlUlIU:;';u DOWN TIU; ISTER. 85

and artisans, generally surrounded by a fortified wall,


with gates dosed at night; and lastly the pakuke, or
suburbs outside the bal'08C'~, which formed the residence
-
of the })oorer classes, and wel'C surrounded simply by
paiis.1.Jes. 11ris l)ian, however, has been greatly modified
by the TurJ;s, who have destroyed without rebuilding.
Though Bulgaria is filled with Jews, Anncnians, aud
Greek Ch ristiarLB, the Danubian cities are of the genuine
Turkish character. 111ey are alike unaffected by the
proximity of H ungary, and the French and English
idcas, which arc constantly gaining ground at Stamboul.
The numerous mosqnes, the crooked rows of cabins, the
stony lunes, need be seen but once never to be for-
gotten.
Agriculture has been banished from the vicinity of
the towns, while thc hills and valleys of tJ1is once fertile
region are gi ven IIp to flocks and herds watched by
Bulgarian shepherds. Largc t racts have been laid waste
for the coursings of the Turk ish horsemen. No wonder
that the Mllssulman squatting in perennial fi lth should
ai ways be (Ireaming of a beautiful heaven! "In the
shade of the crossing of cimiters is paradise," said the
old Moslems, but theil' descendants dream of its frnition
in the midst of poverty and wretchedness.
Of all the Turkish towns below Widdin , Nicopolis
was the only one allowed to retain its fortifications after
tile Russian campaign of 1829. Nicopolis is also cele-
brated for the victory gained the]'c ill 1396 by Bajazet
86

over Sigismond, KingofHungary. It is said that 60,000


Turks, a number far superior to the entire Christian
army, remained dead on the field, a circumstance which
so enraged the Sultan Bajazet, that he ordered all the
prisoners to be put to the sword. Ten thousand men
were thus massacred in cold blood-the work of death
continuing from sunrise to late in the afternoon, when
some of the great dignitaries of the Empire fell at the
feet of the Sultan and besought him to pennit the
remaining prisoners to be led into slavery. This request
was granted, and the few Christian warriors who 8U1'-
yived the foolhardy attempt of King Sigismond were
afterward ransomed at the price of 200,000 pieees of
gold. Before the French caval iers departed for their
native country, Bajazet, who WIU! fond of tbe chase,
invited them to a magnificent bnDt, in which 7,000 fal-
cons and 6,000 hounds were employed. Instead or
commanding them never again to bear anns against
the Turks, the Sultan was magnanimous enough to
request the Duke of Nevers to unite and lead against
the Ottomans the powers of Chri.steudom.
Ncar Nicopolis are shown the remains of the bridge
ereeted by Constantine during his campaign against the
Goths and Sannatians, rivalling that of Trajall at
Turnul Severin. It was evening when we left the eity,
and dropped down to the mouth of the Aluta, a short
distance below, where the Captain detennined to re-
main until morning. Islas and Tumul stand on oppo-
STF..Un~o DOWN TIIF. ISTER. 87

site sides of the river. We gathered on deck in groups


to enjoy the soft, starry, Asiatic night. How still and
beautiful it was as our stemmer lay moored to the bank.
Up the broad Danube I could see no horizon. Tl;terc
were stars above and below j tlw river seemed so unlike
Old Danubins floating down from his Alpine source.
Two Turkish officers, Italians by birth, brought their
guitars on deck. They began with some common

Turkish airs, but the strains of music soon led their
thoughts back to the sunny hills of their fatherland,
and hour after hour, in the sweet surroundings of
night, we listened to the plaintive songs of the sons of
Italy.
The scenery below Nieopolis continued dreary and
monotonous. Here and there I noticed on the Walla-
chian shore the quarantine posts which had been desert-
ed since the retreat of the Russians.
At ten o'clock we reached Sistova, a cit.y of 20,OO(l
inhabitants, and of some commercial importance. The
high bluff upon which it is built is traversed by a
deep ravi ne. The hills beyond the city were clothed,
in part, by vineyards. It was more cheerful than any-
thing I had yet seen jn Turkey. Omer Pacha had left
3000 men to garrison the city.
At Sistova came on board a company of basIl i-
bazouks to join the army below. Among them were
fieree Amallts from the mountains of Albania, and
turbaned warriors from the distant East-
88
"The sun, the desert, stamped in each dark haugbty face."

The great peculiarity of the Russo-Turkish struggle,


which, from a war of monarchs, eamc so near merging
into. a war of races, consisted in the variety of the forces
engaged. I t leyied upon three continents, drawing toge-
ther the representatives of morc nations, languages, and
religions, than were ever before assembled in any con-
flict. Bands of fanatic Moslems from the wild tribes •
of Central A sia-from regions so remote that a year's
j ou rney would scarcely suffice to reach the banks of the
Danube-wandered hither, taking Mecca in their way,
to meet in combat the half-starved recruits from the
Asiatic provinces of Russia, belonging, perhaps, to their
own race and speaking their own dialect. In the Orient
men follow the faith of their kings, and in fighting for
them vainly believe that they are battling in the cause
of Gorl.
Different, however, will it be in the stnlggle between
freedom and des})otism, which must come alike in the
East and the 'Vest, bringing

"War with a thousand baltles aud shaking Il. hundred throullll."

The pichlresque costumes of the bnshi·bazouks were


worn and ragged. Serving as volunteers, they received
little or no stlpport from the gMermnent, and compelled
to subsist by plunder, often proved more troublesome
to their friends than to their foes. To me, however,
their dress, their arms, nnd Eastern customs were highly
S,'F,AlUNO DOWS TilE ISTER , 39

interesting, reminding me of the rough warriors of Asia,


with whom the first Sultans achieved their conquests,
Among them was a Seheik from beyond the Lebanon,
whose beard had attained the ntmost limit of capillary
licentiousness. He seemed perfectly at home in the
saloon, and through an interpreter I learned many cnri-
OilS things concerning his people.

Near us stood a Greek mercha nt from Galatz, a


young lDan of fin ished education and manners, with
whom I had become well acquainted. I cannot con\'ey
the contempt with which he looked upon these wild
children of A sia, descendants of the rude warriors wllO
enslaved his ancestors four centuries ago. "Oe 8f.mt des
brigands, lJfM8ieur," said my friend as we promenaded
the deck. "08 sont des brigands / de8 barbares /" and
again he twirled his elegant moustache, and cast
lIpon the enemies of his race a look of unutterable
scorn.
At two o'clock a bend in the river brought into
view the city of Rustchuk, and shortly after tile steamer
was moored under one of the forts upon the high
bluff. In consequence of a moderate wind blowing
down the DallUbe, Said Paeha refu SBd to open the
bridge of boats thrown across the r iver a few days pre-
vions for the passage of Qmer P aeha's anny . I was
astonished at the number of cannon bristling on the
heights above. The Turks were celebrating tLe festival
of the Courban Beiram alter the manner of our Inde-
90 ROUMAN!!.

pendCllce Day, and B8 the thunders of their heavy


ordnance rolled away among the Bulgarian hills, I wit·
nessed, in i magination, one of the recent CAnnonades
across the Danube. On the opposite side of the river
was the little village of Slobosia., occupied a few days
previous by the Russians. I amused myself during the
afternoon with watching a company of bashi-bazouks
who were TMing on the nalTOW strand of RU8tchuk.
The little horses, npon which they had ridden from
their distant homes in Asia, looked poor and sorry, but
werc nimble-footod and trained in the rapid irregular
charges pecul iar to Turcoman warfare. It was an ex-
citing spectacle to see a troop of these wild horsemen,
with picturesque gannents streaming in the wind, dart.
away through clouds of sand and dust, and brandisb
their glittering wcapons in the air.
The sound of evening bells floating across the lazy
rivers from Slobosia and Giurgevo, fell graterully upon
the car, and contrasted strangely with the chants of the
muezzins upon the Turkish mosques.
The following day there being no prospect of
reaching Giurgevo, I rambled t hrough R ustehuk with
Aristias and my Greek friend. E xcepting Widdin,
Rustchuk is the most important place on the lower
Danube, having numerous silk and morocco factori~
and being t he rendezvous of the caravans from Sophia
and the cities or Roumelia. As the navigation from
the Black Sea is very Jiable to intemlptioll, many of
STEAMING DOW:i TilE ISTER.

the rich fabrics and products of the East reach the


Danubian cities through the passes of the Balkans, to
be sold at the great quarterly fairs in Bulgaria, or to
supply the markets of Wallachia and Hungary. A
railway from Rustchuk to the Archipelago, with a
branch to Constantinople, is now in contemplation.
The project has met the approval of the Porte, always
lavish in promises, and even a hundred million piastres
have heen subscribed, but some time will intervene
before the wild solitudes of Bulgaria are startled by
the shrill neighings of the iron steed. Eastern E urope,
however, must ultimately become the great highway
between the Occident and the Orient, and we may
hope that llCr dormant races will be gal vanized into
activit.y by contact with the forces of ci vilization, as
the passes of the mesmeriser rouse the motionless
subj ect.
We visited the Paeha and the Cadi's Court. Until
then I had believed, with many others, that tllere was
some virtuc in Turkish refonns. The firman equ aliz-
ing the Christian and the Turk in the eye of the law,
had been reeently promulgated at Constantinople with
the usual surroundings of parade and bombast, but
was little heeded at Rustchuk. Let the Sultan, wl10 is
a humane though a weak mall, devise one method to
improve the condition of his Christian subjects, the
cunning and bigoted Ulemas will devise ten, by elastic
interpretations of the KorHn or othenvise, to keep
92 ROUlIA.."1IA.

them in an enslaved condition. What will it avail to


make the testimony of a Christian valid, while tlle Turks
remain the judges and executors of the law1 How
shall I describe the Cadi's court at Rutschuk 1 The
low damp room, the holes in the floor and the walls,
the imbecile ignorance of the judge and the arrogance
of' the attendants, mell trembling and weeping oyer
the misfortunes brought upon them by unrighteous
jndgment--the sight of all this produced a moat pain-
fill imp,"cssion upon my mind.
"God first created reason," say the Mussnlmans,
bllt they I'arely employ tile faculty div ine in the practi-
cal affairs. of life. The best feature of the Turkish
Courts is, that the person who gains a suit must pay
the expenses. Should a witness be so far off his guard
as to answer, "I don't know," to any question, however
absurd, his testimony may at once be sct aside. In-
genious, though irrelevant questions are often asked in
order to dispose of disagreeable testimony, as for in-
stance, "Who married Adam lllld Eve i" to which the
witne:s usually replics, " I didn't go to the wedding."
Elsewhere, bilmem (I don't know) is ever upon the l ips
of the faithfu l. Perjury is astonishingly prevalent
among the Turks. It is quite common to bring forward
a forged note with the two witnesses indispensable to
l)rove its validity. This the opponent does not deny,
but prOdtlCes in tUn! n forged receipt for the snm in
dispute, with testimony to prove that the debt has been
5 1'EAlII);"O DOW);" Till:: ISTEII. .3
paid. Red t:lpe and pleadings are unknown to Turkish
lawyers, and when the witnesses are absent, the defen-
dant bimsclf is sworn.
}~rom the nneven plateau llpon which R ustchuk is

situated, we descended to the bridge of boats a short


distance below thc city. In the vicinity was a large
Turkish camp from which troops were moving over to
the opposite bllllk of the Danube to join Orner Paella's
army at Bllkarost. 'l11e utmost activity prevailed. As
in the narrow lance of R ustehllk, I could only wonder at
the great variety of raees and costumes. J cws, Greeks,
and Annonians ming led freely with Turks in flowing
robes, and Bulgarians in sheepskin caps and barbarous
garments. llCl-c n company of the awkward N izam pre-
ceded filcs of Egyptians, and there the dusky squadrons
of the Bey of Tunis followed bands of Arnauts and
mountaineers from Asia. Now the eye rested upon
an Arab sheik with a group of dark warriors and
dervishes, their faces full of fire and Asia, and then
upon a Circaesian chief as wild and untamed as the
eagles upon his native rocks. French, English, 1Illnga-
risn and Polish oflicers ser ved to diversify the curious
picture of nationalities.
The banks of the Danube ha\·e exhibited a strange ar-
ray of life and Cllstoms from the east and the west, from
the frozen nort h and the sultry south, The SWUI'llIY
!lons of the deser t have here met th e ch ildren of tlJC
frigid zone, and warriors from the Nile and the Nigel·,
04 ROUMANIA.

from the banks of the OXllS and the Jaxartes, have seen
in the smoke of battle the Cossacks of the Volga a.nd
the forced recruits from the Dniester and the Dwina.
-When, oh when, shall the nations forget the dreadful art
of war, and the fair bosom of the earth no longer be stain-
ed with rivers of blood 1
After a. delay of two days, we left RU8tebuk for
Giurgevo, on the opposite side of the Danube about
three miles below. We fell down the river some distance,
and then returned by the narrow channel between the
Wallachian shore and the islands ofMokan and Smnrda.
On the latter, which were nearly covered with reeds
. and thick undertrees, I noticed the remains of the fortifi-
cations abandoned by the Russians in July. Near them
fell Burke and Arnold in tho insane attempt of the
Paeha to dislodge the Cossacks. Burke's ncrvant, who
gave me an account of the battle, bore away the body
of his master, pierced with tllirty-five wtmnd8. The
brave fellow afterward received a deC'orntion from
Orner Paeba. We landed ncar the old Ij.enocse castle
of Giu.rgevo, and after breakflWting at tJ. casino kept by
an Italian, I called npon the Commandnnt of the city.
lIe was a Hun{,-arian officer, and treated m(' with great
politeness.
CHAPTER V.

LOW LIFE AMONG TilE DAOQ-ROM.AN8.

"Now I believe ill thn Troglodytes of old


Whereof lIerodotUl! and Stmbo told,
Sincc·overywhoro about tbese parts, in holO!!
Cunieular men I t\.nd, aDd hum.tln molcs."

AT 10 o'clock, we WO I·O all ready to set out for Bu-


karest, tho capital of Wallachia, distant from Giur·
gcvo fi vo posts, or forty miles. The Khan-keeper who
had bargained for our conveyance conducted us to a
heavy, lumbering vehicle, to which were harnessed,
or rather tied with long ropes, ten small Bulgarian
horses. The French and Austrian Captains, a F rench
Colonel j ust from Varnn, the Count, Aristias, and my-
self took scats in the rickety coach which must have
been imported from Vienna a quarter of a century
before. We were told that it was infinitely better
than the native 'Vallacll conveyances, but I questioned
the l)ossibility of reaching Bukarest in such a vehicle.
Three long-hai red Wallachs, of the color of Choctaw
Indians, with slouched hats, and sheepskin juva8 thrown
over their shoulders, mounted as many of the horses,
shouted at the top of their voices, and away wo dashed
96 r.OID1A..... IA.

through the wide streets of Giurgcvo. The latter are


IInp:wed and radiate from un open space, ill the eentre
of which stands the town hall, resembling a church
r;lthcr than a public ed ifice.
On the olltskirts uf the town we rapidly approached
what at first appeareJ like a 'n~ll-polc, but turned out
to be a kind of gateway at the Ollter barrier.
The 8UI","ujll.fJ, our horsemen, slu:lUted again and
brought us to It sudden halt. A man emerged from a
hole in the g round and asked for onr passports.
I was aston ished .
Looking around I observed two or three email
conical clenltions resembling magnified ant·hills with
a large hole by the side of ench.
"What are these little mounds 1" I inquired of
Ari stias.
"TIley are "rallach houses," he replied. "The
peasants call them K olibe8. You will see them every-
where in the Danubian principalities."
"Eft bien / I understand : fuel is scarce on the
W allllchi un prairies and the Daco-Homans burrow
ilLto the bosom of mother Eartll in order to enjoy hct"
wan ntll !"
,~ Oui, MOnsieur /"
The examination of the passp orts promised to be
tedious, but WM speed ily cut short by dropping a
cou ple of pi astres into the hand of the pole-tcnder.
1110 8urrujUJ/ swung their 10llg whips and tbe cavill.
LOW LU'J:; A~IO.xG TilE DACO-ROliANS. 97

cade sped across the smooth plain as if a squadron of


Cossacks hild been in close punmit. The black, rich
soil was grown up with tall weeds and coarse pmirie-
grass. Duri ng tJle first post we passed by only ono
amall field of I ndian corn. An estate belonging to
Prince Milosh of Serbia, was pointed out to me in the
distance. 1'110 horses were kcpt upon a run, und in
a short time the 8UrI'IljUiJ reined up at a collection
of miserable huts named F rataschi, where the R ussians
had made a stand the previous winter. Ten fresh
horses, caught from a large number that were feeding
Uj)Qn the adjacent plain , were harnessed in. As we
ad "anced, the faee of the country became more unevell.
Large tracts were growll up with brushwood, and here
and there we pM$cd by small fields of wheat and
Indian corn. I noticed several places where the Rus-
sians had halted, the ashes of their camp fires and their
temporary huts of bushes still remaiIlillg. Now and
then the 8urruju8 apparently forgot themselves, think-
ing, perhaps, of the charms of a few dark·haired 'Val-
lachian maidens, whom we saw at the relays. The
horses would then fall into an easy gait, but the recol-
lection of the p romised baeksheesh soon disp elled th cs~
rosy imaginings from the minds of our rustic horsemen,
when their wild shouts and gestures again sent us
wheeling over the prairie as before. W e met a large
number of arabas, drawu by buffaloes, on their way
to Giurgevo. They were returning under Turkish
5
DS
colors from tJlC camp of Orner Paeha, whither they
had conveyed his baggage and military stores. It
was before them that the 8urruju~ took occasion to
display, to our sore discomfort, their peculiar feats
of horscmansllip. The B ulgarian drivers stopped their
arubiis and looked with mute Mtonishment upon our
fleet little horses pawing the earth to escape the lashes
of the indomHable Wallachs.
The large Greek crosses set up along the road had
alone escaped mutilation by the Russians. One of
these rude monuments marked the place where Michael
the Brave, a Wallachian prince, once gained a great
victory over the Turks.
We halted an hour at the village of Kalougareni
for di]mer. The khan was crowded with W allachs in
Phrygian caps of sheepskin, and ragged gipsies. We
called for the best that the place could afford, but my
dinner consisted of a tough omelet and a crust of black
bread, washed down by a vile fluid that wonld pass for
vincgar in any other part of the world, but was paid
for as Wallachian winc.
Directly in front of the kllan a gipsy was engaged
in slaughtering kids. Having cut the throat of one of
the animals and permitted it to bleed sufficiently, he
drew a cord tightly around its neck below the incision.
Then puncturing the skin on one of the fore legs and
placing his mouth over the opening, with a succession
of efforts he forced the air under the int.egument, aod
LOW L U'E AMONG TilE DACO-I'OMANS. 99

to my stlrprise~ inflated the kid to twiee or three times


its fonner size. This done, and the air confined by a
string t ied round t he leg, he began to beat t he animal
vigorously with a rod. I did not understand the object
of all this, but was infOl'lncd by the butcher that the beat-
ing would make the kid's flesh more tender and delicate.
Many lands, many cllstoms !
While the rest of the company loitered around the
khan, Aristias and myself took a stroll through the
village. Passing near the humble church I looked in
for a moment. A kind of trial by jury was going on,
under the direction of the papa, or village priest, assist-
ed by three other persons appointed annually for that
purpose.
A few of the peasants invited us to enter their nlde
cabins. The furniture was scanty, but I noticed in all
a large wooden trough, llsed ordinarily as a cradle for
the children, for a wash-tub on washing cluy, a kneading
trough on baking day, and as an occasional receptacle
fo r l)rQvisions.
The people were enjoyi ng themselves with dancing
alld music, it being the holiday in honor of one of the
Greek saints. These simple-hearted people are velY
kind to eaeh other, as, indeed, the lowly arc everywhere.
There has existed from time immemorial in Moldo-
Wallachia a charitable custom of aiding the poor, the
newly married, the priestB, or any family not possessed
of cattle or h orses. On the holidays the youths and
100 ROUMAKIA.

maidens, men, women, and children, assemble with their


teams to labor for such flS Call!lOt work thcmseh·cs.
This pious labor is called claca. By this means the
family is supported, although they may be unable to
plough and sow. I n too many instances, however, the
priests have availed themselves of the claca to impose
upon the ben evolence of their pa l"ishioners, while this
pious and touching usage aided the Boyards in fastening
upon the peasants a crnel and odious servitude.
Bands of 'Vallachian lautari wander from village
to village, like the guzlfilll of Servia, or the old minstrels
of 'Vestcrn Europe, repeating the national tmditioml
which the I)Cople so much love, and accompanyi ng their
recitals with simple and tOil ching melodies-now as
wild as the b attle songs of tho mOlmta in hyduks, and
now as soft and fresh as the idyls of the 'Vallnch shep-
herds.
The D aco-R omans, though for the most part an
unlettered people, exhibit a remarkable appreciation of
nature and beauty, seeming, in deed, to dispel the
memory of their misforttUlCs by fairy thoughts and ideal
conceptions that astonish us, coming from so humble a
source. The 'Vallachs call the carth mother. .A bcau-
liful female is a fragment of the snn. The avalanche is
God's voice, the echoing mountallls talk, and the milky
way is the path of slaycs. "As good as the bosom of
a mother," is with them a frequent comparison, and
(( silence is the dcvil's eye."
LOW LIFE AMONO TilE DACO-ROMANS. 101

" When I chant," says Vidra, the heroine of a Wal-


lach ddt;na, "whcn I chant Illy sweet song of woman,
the waters move, the fi r trees incline their heads, the
hills t remble, and I awake in its retreat the terrible
genius of the mountains."
"lliho," says anothCI' ddina, or popular song, "Miho
plays upon his flute an air so passionate and tender
that the mountains answer, thc eagles pause in their
flight to listen, the torrents suspend their course, and
the glad stars shoot forth their brightest twinklings."
H ere is the little do'ina of "The Rose and the
Sun :"-
"Daylight is breaking in the east. A young prin-
cess goes down from her garden to batllC in the silvery
waves of the sea, The whiteness of her limbs shines
through the l ight veil thrown over them, and gleams in
the azure waves like the morning star in the blue
heavens,
"She glides softly into the crystal flood.
"The sun stands still to look at her : he regards her
with love, and forgets his duty. Once, twice, three
times, night advances to extend her sceptre over the
world. TIJN:~e times she finds the Slln standing still in
his course. TIle Master of the universe hath trans·
fonned the princess into a rose. Behold why the rose
hangs her head and blushes when the sun looks upon
her_"
I n a filthy khan, where a number of gip.sy children
102 n OUM.\l'OA.

were distorting their tawny limbs to" the wi ry tinkling


of a tambori nc," we paused a few minutes to hear a
peasant sing Uw famous ballad of jJ£ioritu, the sub-
stance of which I obtained fro m Aristia.s.
" Down the mountain side as beautiful as the en-
trance to Paradise, descend toward the valley three
flocks of lambs, led by three young shepherds: one
of them is an inhabitant of the pl:l.ins of Moldavia, an·
other is a Hungarian, and the third a mountaineer of
Vrantchia.
" The Hun garian and the Vralltchian counsel toge-
ther and resolve to slay theil" companion at the setting
of the SUIl, 1'01' the reason that he is the richest; that he
possesses a greater number of sheep with beautiful
horns, horses bettor trained, and more vigOIXluS dogs.
"Fot th ree days :l. little ewe lamb of white and silky
wool, tastes n ot of the mountain gJ"ass. I ts plaintive
voice ceases not to be heard .
'" Gentle Jamb, round and gentle, why, for three days,
hath not thy voice ceased to be lleard ~ Doth not the
grass of the mOllntain please thee, or art thou ill? tell
me, gentle pet.
", Oh my beloved shepherd, lead thy flock down the
mountain side. There, there, is grass for us and shelter
for thee. Master, call withont delay the bravest and
strongest of thy dogs, for the H ungarian and the
Mountaineer have resol ved to slay at the setting of the
sun,'
LOW LIFE AMONG TilE DA CO-ROlIANS. 103

'" Pet of my flock, if I must perish, tell t.he Hllll-


garisn and the Mountaineer to bury me within the
sheepfold, that I may always be with my cherished
lambs, or ncar it, that I may always hear the voice of
my faithful dogs.
"'Ten them this, and after I am buried, place thon at
the head of my grave a small lute of beach wood for
accents of love, a small lute of heml for sounds of har-
mony , a small lute of elder for notes of passion; and
when the wind sllaH breathe through their tubes they
will give forth dulcet and plaintive sounds, and sud-
denly my lambs will gather round my tomb and weep
for me. But sp::ak not to them of murder,-tell them
only that I have married a beautiful queen, the bride
of the world (death): Say to them that at the moment
of our union a star disappeared, that the sun and the
moon placcd the crown upon my head, that I had for
witnesses the pines and plane trees of the forests, for
pricsts the high mountains, for an orchestra the birds,
the myriad birds, and for torches the stars of the
finnament
" , And if thou shouldst ever meet a poor old mother
with a woollen girdle, traversing the fields and the
prairies, and with tearful eyes inquiring of everyone,
"ilast thou seen a young and beautiful shepherd of tall
and graceful fonn ~ his face is wbitc as the foam of
milk j his locks of hair nrc like the plumage of the
raven, and hie cyea rcsemblo the mulberry in the field :"
l O! ROUllANIA.

t.hen, my pet, take pity upon her SQrrow and tell her
simply that I have married the daughter of a king in B
country beuutiful as the entrance to Paradise.
"I But be careful to say that at my nuptials a star
went out, that I had for witnesses the pines and the
plane trees of the forests, for priests the high mountains,
for un orchestra myriads of birds, amI for torches the
stars of night.'"
W e met a group of peasants armed with clubs and
rusty yataghans, and h eaded by a W allaeh blowing
vigorously on a bagpipe. They were going to a be-
troth al, and my companion proposed that we should
follow. Am ong the D aco-Romans, asking in marriage,
betrothal, and the marriage ceremony itself, form curi-
ous dramas, intermi ngled with warlike contests, and
tenninating, as among the ancient Romans, with the
semblance of forcibly carrying a way the bride. Im-
mediately after she has received the proposal of mar·
riage the young man sends a number of messengers on
the errand of betrothal, likc thc company to which I
have alluded.
Arrived in front of the cottage of the parents,
the musician dro})ped his bagpi))e, and addressed tQ
them , looking mit of the door, the following senten-
tious speech :
" Ou r grandfathers, and the ancestors of our fathers,
gOing to the chase, and hunting in the woods, disco-
vered the land whieh we inhabit, and wllich gives 11 8

~
•!

••


UlW LIn; A:'tlO!,< O TilE DACO-ROlIANS. 10...
'
the enjoyment of its milk and honey. The honorable
youth, Barbo Michael, following their example, also
went forth to the chase among the forests and moull-
tains, and discovered a doe, which timidly fled fl'om
his presence, and hid itself away. But the rest of liS,
following its tracks, have been led to this honse. Give
into Ollf hands what we seek, or show us where is COIl-
cealed the doe which we have pursued with so many
fatigu es and difficulties."
"It has not entered into this house," respond tho
parents.
The musician again employs all the resources of his
eloquence, ornamenting his discourse with metaphors
and allegories peculiar to the East.
The other messengers join in with him.
The parents bring the great-grandmother of th.,
girl to the door, and ask-
"Is it she whom you seek i"
"No !"
The grandmother comes.
"Perhaps it is she f'
"No!"
The mother presents herself in turn.
The same response.
"'VeIl, then, here she is!" say they, and at tlle
same time bring forward an ugly old hag, in tatters.
"No! no I Onr doe has golden hair, and the eyes
of the sparrow.hawk; her teeth are rows of pearls, her
5*
106 ROU1U...·HA.

ruby lips look like cherries, ber bosom is firm and


round, and he]" neck has the wh iteness of the swan;
more delicate than wax are her fingers, and the 80n
and the moon arc not SO radiant as her face."
At last, when violence is threatened, the parents
lead out the young girl, dressed 1\8 richly as they can
afford, in the costume of the country. The betrothal
then takes 1)18ce, and the maiden returns to her cham·
ber, not to lcnvc it again until her wcddillg-day.
'Vhen the happy time arrives, the young man, if
he live in another village, scnds in advance a Dumber
of men on horseback to announce his coming. Theso
tile parents and friends of the affianced waylay on the
road, and e[lI"ry home as prisoners. 'VllCn questioned,
d10y respond that they were the heralds sent to de . .
claro war, and that the anny is coming up to storm
the fortress. 111c parents then go forth with their pri-
roners to meet the betrothed, who presents himself
with a suite more or less numerous. 'Then the two
parties arc at no great distance from the dwe'ling of
the maiden, they suddenly put Spill'S to their horses,
and the first arrived receives an embroidered veil from
the hands of the affianced.
Among the Wallachs, in Transylvania, the bride is
closely veiled on her wedding.day, ns well as the day
prevIOus. 'Vhoc\'cr unveils her is cntitled to a ki86,
and, if she desire it, is olJligcd to make her a prescnt.
TIlcsc ceremonies finif'lu'd, they all repair to the
I.OW LlFF. A~O~G T ill': DACQ-nO:\fANS, 107

village church, The bridegroom and tho blido stand


upon a C:llVet, over which pieces of money have been
thrown, to show how little they make of riches in com-
parison with domestic hnppiness. As the papa (Gt'cek
priest) places the nuptial crown upon their fo reheads,
an assistant scatters walnuts and hazelnuts right and
left, indicating thereby that the married ones have
renounced fol' e"er the amusements of childhood for
objects of a more serious nature.
On their return home all sit down to dinner, the
newly-married COli pIe at tho head of tho table, and the
father- in-law and witnesses on their right and left.
Thon ono of tho brothers, or, in his absence, Olle of' the
nearest relatives of the bridegroom, rises-and addresses
the latter in these terms:
"0, brother ! you are arrived at the age of mat"·
riage and of joy. Qllr father g mnts you fa place at his
table, and lmites you to-day ha})pi ly with anothor
fami ly, But always chet'ish the memory of those to
whom you owe the light, and ever retain yonI' love for
yom brothers. Continue submissive in heart to the
wishes of your parents, that you may obtain their
benediction : h01l0r your father, find al ways think how
much your mother has sntlered for you; for they It:-wc
given YOll life. May lhe benediction of the Lord ever
keep you in joy,"
After the rustic repast, when the young man is on
the point of retiring with his wife, the 'l)otaclu:Z, a per-
108 UOU:\IA..'\" lA.

SOll who carnes a staff omamcntcd with flowel1l and


ribbons behind the bride, rises, aud, in the name of
the latter, entreats pardon of her p arents in the follow-
ing words:
",\Vhcn we ask ourselves, beloved parents, what
constitutes the true happiness of life, we find that it
consists in raisi.ng good families. This is conformable
to llntUl'C and the Scriphu'cs. The wife should be a
feJtilc and abundant vine, and children surround the
table like young olive plants. B ehold your daughter
arrived at the happy age of ma l'l'iagc, and about to
quit your house to live in anotJlCr, which God has
chosen for her'! She cannot find sighs and tears
enough wherewith to beg your pa rdon; she has not
sweet words of gratitude enongh for all your tender,
lmrental cares."
This address finished, the newly-married pair mak~
their adietlX-, and kiss the hands of the bride's parents.
The latte,· respond, their eyes bathed in tears :
" Young man, in gh-ing you Qllr cherished daugh-
ter, we only submit to the decrees of Divine Pro-d-
denee. Lo,'c thy wife. And thOll, dear child, whom
we have m iscd in 0111' arms, whom we ]ul\-e surrounded
with our lo,-c, nourished with thc milk of our tender-
ness, and fortified with Ollr instnlctioll, in permitting
(hee to be thus torn from Ollr a rms, we perform an
agreeable, but at the same time a. sorrowful duty.
You have out blessi ngs; go in peace."
l'1le young bride then throws herself into the trem-
bling arms of her l)arcnts.
At last the husband is nbont to depart with his
wife, when her brothers plnee themselves in the door-
way, with axes or daggers ill their hands, and will not
l)ermit him to l)ass until ho has bought their sister
with a large present. After this she gets into a wa-
gon, which carries the dower, having her mot1lCr-in-
law on onc side of her and a sister-in-law on t110 other.
The hnsband follows on horseback, his companions
shouting loudly on tlle way, and constantly firing their
guns, for milch joy.
But the husband has not yet reached the end of his
tribuilltions. Scarcely hIlS ho arrived home when the
bride's parents lay hold of their daughter, and con fino
her in a chamber. The friends of the young man
demand her, with loud cries, and, no answer being
givcn, bllrst through the door. The happy husband
then snatches his wite from the nnns of her parents.
On the point of crossing the threshold, in commemo-
ration ot' the seizure of the Sabine v irgins, he takes her
up in his arms, and carries her to the nuptial-chamber.
This is the marriage ceremony among the Wallachs, as
related by Voincsco. The Daeo-Roman peasant Ilever
marries out of his own people. "\Vhen you take a
wife," says he, "know her stock and origin."
There are also curious local customs pertaining to
the marri~ae ccremony, many of wlljch, however,
110 ROU MANIA.

have nearly lost their force. In some districta the


nuptials are prolonged through eight days. In others,
the church sextons are privileged to close the door
against the bridal procession until they have received
a present. The ring is exchanged three times. An
iron crown is plnced upon their heads to remind them
of the possible hardships of matrimony. They pour
wine into the same glass and throw pieces of bread
behind their backs. In other localities one of the
guests at the nuptial feast crows in imitation of a cock,
to annonnce the coming of day. Cantcmir speaks of a
custom which is no longer in 'V ogue in the Principali-
ties. The jealous husband fonnerly made use of the
same means to determine the virginity of bis bride
that are now employed among the Egyptians. Tbe
parents of the female visited their son-in-law on the
third day. If she had been fbund virtuous they were
received with great honor, and the proof of virginity
joyously exhibited at the feast which ensued. If the
husband had been disappointed, he at once summoned
his relatives and took counsel. The parents, on their
arrival, were harnessed to the meanest cart that could
be found, and, under the j eers and lusty blows of the
(,fi'ended ones, were compelled to draw home their
unfortunate daughter. No person dared to interfere.
The husband retained the dower and received complete
indemnity for all the expenses or the wedding.
A t the little village of Padika, where the 81Jr1'Ujua
LOW LIFE A:UONO Tin, DACo-ROMANS. 111

halted a momellt to pull the cars of his horses and give


them water, groups of peasants were singing l ustily in
front of the kLans. Aristias informed me Olat they
were j ubilant over tho retreat of the Russians, and that
their principal song was tho" Chant of the PruiJI,"
known to every Daco-Roman from tho Carpathians to
the Euxille.

"0 Fruth J accursed river !


Mayest thou swell,
Like tho ddllg(l of troubloo waters,
So that bank may not 8CO bank,
Nor voioo hear voice,
Nor eye moot eye,
Aer<)!j/j thy vast extent.
When the clouds of locusts pass thee,
By that bank let them perish;
Wllen the plague and pestilence pasa thee,
In mid stream let them perish;
When our enemies pass thee,
By this bank let tllem perish.
And thou, 0 Fruth I proud of thy rushing flood,
Dear them, bear tllcm all,
Dowil to the Danube, dOwn to the sea,
Down to tho gates of IIelll"

To the Daco-Roman the Pmth is the black-watered


Coeytus sepnraling fiowery Roumania from a land of
terrors. In thei r six different occupations of the PI·in·
eipalities, the llussians hlWC usually seized upon the
public chests/ compelled the people to ])rovision their
112 ROUlL\.! ';)A.

armu~s, and in morc than oue instance taxed them


heavily for the so-called "protection" of the Czar.
Famine and pestilence have generally followed these
invasions, and the 'Vallach peasants affirm that the
Russians have invariably bronght with them hard
winters, inundations, swarms of locusts, the murrain,
alld evils innumerable.
ITow many remain of the 36,000 cattle which you
\!

have drawn from the Principalities ,to asked the Grand


Duke Michael of the Russian Commissariat-GeneraI,
during the occupation of 1828.
"Nut a beef-steak for your Highness!" responded
the latter.
Thirty-six thousand morc were ordered; they disal)-
pearcd in the same manner, for enough was wasted and
peculated to feed ten annics. _
In the terrible campaign of 1829 the Wallach
peasants were forced into the Russian service like
beasts of bllrdell. Cossacks were to be seen driving
with the ,,-'1I.(fUt men and women loaded with provisions
and timber for the construction of bridges, or yoked to
wagons in l)lace of horses and oxen.
At last they camc to inform General Zoltoncbin
that the supply of peasants had failed.
"Very weU j Ulen harness in the boyards," was tlU)
reply.
Everywhere I saw the evidences of cruel war. We
were obliged to ford the river, 3 S the R nssians, in their
LOW LIFE AMONG TIlE OAOO-ROMANS. 113

hasty retreat, had destroyed the bridges. Deserted


villages and d wellings burned to the earth, cornfields
and vineyards trampled to the ground , whole districts
illlinhabited save by wolfish dogs and flocks of carnivo-
rous birds still feasting upon the carcasses of horses and
of men exhumed from their shallow graves-these
were among the blessings left by the Cossack hordes
of the Czar to a land that otherwise would have smiled
with peace and plenty.
N'ow oppressed by the Turks an d the Russians, and
then given over to the Phanariots, or to the still more
tyrannical rule of the native H osp odars, the Moldo-
'Vallachs have been the worst governed people in the
world. Alexander Sepuchano was the Nero of Molda-
via. During his reign, in the sixteenth century, no·
thing but blood, tears, despair, and anathemas was seen
and heard in the Principality. The highways were
strewn with corpses of parents and children with
hands and cars cut off, and unfortunates, whose eyes
had been plucked out, wandered through the land. At
last the V olvode came to bis deathbed.
"Pardon me," said he-having called to h is side
the great boyards, bishops, and tbe Archbishop Thco-
phallUS, "and take pity 0 11 my son ! If I do not die, I
make a vow to take the gown and go to Slatina in
order to ask pardon of God for the past. P riests!
when you sec that death is approaching, cut off my
hair, put on the black cap, and make a monk of me!"
114 ROUlIll.NtA.

A few hours afterward he was obeyed. His locb


were cut off, and the monk's cap drawn upon his head.
A candle burned at his feet, the image of the Virgin
leaned upon his pillow, and over his body were ex-
tended the hair cloth and the p riestly gown.
But he revived, and opening his haggard eyes, mur·
mured in a blunt and savage tone-
(l What signifies all this 1"

" How dost thou feel, brothel' F alsir 1" asked one of
the monks present. At these words Alexander raised
his head, and Jetting it fall again, cried with an accent
of rage that seemed to defy death-
" Ah! if I recover, I shall make monks !"
The arc11bishop besought him to think of his ap-
proaching end.
"Hold thy tonguc, impostor!" intelTUpted the
VOlvode, his teeth chattering with the chills of death.
Then, his eyes happening to fall upon his wife, he oon·
ti nued-
"I'll quarter her with her son! No, I am not a
monk ! I am dying of thirst! 'Water! water I"
At that moment Stroica and Spancioc, two nobles
who had escaped his fury, entered the door. The
fonner handed the princess a cup into which the
other tumed a powder.
"Poison! poison!" cried Roxandra.
"Poison!" responded both.
" Choose between thy husband and thy son I"
LOW LIFE AMONG TI1E DAC<>-ROMANS. 115

Overwhelmed by this fatnl alternati ve, ROXllnOJ'll


turned imploringly to the Archbishop.
"God pardon thee," said Theophanusj and the
princess with a , trembling hand offered the cup to the
dying man.
The latter would not drink: his teeth were finnly
set. Roxandra was about to let fan the cup when
Spancioc snatched it from her hand.
Stroica drew his poniard.
"Go, princess !" said both; and while one, with his
blade, pried open the jaws of the V o'ivode, the other
poured down the lloison, saying-" Drink! drink I and
thank Stroicn and Spancioe!"
Alexander heard nothing more, but opening his
eyes for the last time, he recognised the boyards. He
died, as seemed proper, in rage and des}lair, "after
hav ing been al1 his life," says Thou, "an object of
horror to his own subjects."
Basil, the ·Wolf, ruled over Moldavia ncar the
middle of the 17th century. Some of the regulations
in his celebrated code fonn a striking contrast to
the law8 of the Vo'ivode, whose death I have just
described.
1. "Whoever shall discover a treasure by means of
sorcery. has no right to touch it: the whole bclollgi:! to
the V o"ivode.
2. The hll sband who will not call a physician when
his wife is ill, or refuses t.o b1lY proper m()dicillcs for
116

her, shall lose, in case the wife dies, the income derived
from her domains.
3. If a doctor shall declare that a wound is danger-
ous when it is not, he is to be believed in preference to
a barber or a sorcerer.
4. Love, which resembles drunkenness and folly,
mitigates guilt.
5. He who commits a fault under the in:fluence of
love shall not be punished according to the full measure
of the In"'",
6. H e who meets a female in the road, and prompt-
ed by love embraces her, shall not be punished.
7. Nobility also lessens the degree of guilt. Boy-
a N s shall neither be hUllg, empaled, nor condemned to
the galleys or mines, but may be decapitated or banish-
ed from the country.
W e crossed the Argisch at Xapatschini, and forded
several other unimportant rivers that flow down from
the Carpathians. The country became more fertile as
we advanced. The plain was dotted with immense
flocks of sheep, and the dusty road almost filled with
droves of dun-colored cattle, in care of Turkish and
Arab soldiers-bleating and h orned llOloeausts for the
50,000 Ottomans encamped near Bncharest.
Towards sunset I sa,v in the distance the green tents
of Ole Arabs, ten thousand of whom, in the jght, haIf
Oriental uniform of the Egyptian troops, had been sent
from the banks of the Nile, t.o fi ght the battles of
LOW LIFE A:lIO""O TilE DAGO-ltOllAo."S. 117

the great padishnh along the Danube. Their pictu-


resque tents extended in long lines over the plain.
The dusky soldiers bore a brave and martial appear-
ance. The cornfields adjoining the camp were un-
touched, showing iu this respect a r emarkable contrast
to tlle ravages of the Cossacks.
The sun was j lIst sinking behind the distant Carpa-
thians, as we passed under Ow shadow of an old Greek
monastery, near the barrier of Buka.rest. It was one
of those gloomy Byzantine castles scattered thickly
over Roumelia and the low Danubian countries, in
which Greek learning took refuge after the destrnction
of the Eastern E mpire, and where the works of the great
Attic writers were conned and preserved by pious old
monks, whon eyen the existence of Athens was un-
known to the western world. The day of their utility
has long since passed, and they are now the abodes of
ignorance, indolence, and impiety. As I rode by the
sombre piles, ivy-clad and crumbling in ruins, I often
thought that if their mysterious walls could be made to
speak, they would ten strange stories of crime, of ro-
mance, and of genuine piety.
Unmarnecl ladies of an uncertain age, I am in·
formed, are scarcely to be found in the Danubian pri n-
cipalities. W ives are there taken in consideration of the
dower. 1.' be sons of wealtllY families are sent out into
the world with scarcely a piastre, so as to g ive the
da.ughters fiue establishments. It is considered highly
118 ROU)LA:.'HA..

disgraceful to have the latter l'emain with their parents


beyond a certain age; and if all means fail to open the
way to matrimony, the unfortunate creature, who would
fain marry an earthly lord, is reluctantly compelled to
become the bride of heaven, and thenceforth remain
the inmate of a convent. Should there be several
daughters in a family, or at least more than can be
handsomely settled, one of them is condemned to
cloister life, even in childbood, since by this means a
comfortable subsistence is secured for life. Voluntarily
taking the veil is rare. The nuns belonging to Greek
convents by no means lead seclnded lives. Tbey inter-
change visits, make journeys, and, in fine, do almost as
they please: only church hours must be nominallyob-
served, and on fast days no conversation be held with
males. As the Wallachs are the most dissolute people
in the world, many Magdalenes doubtless find their
way into these institutions.
Our passports were taken from us at the well-pole
gate, and after rattling for nearly half an hour over
corduroy roads and rough pavements, the 8IU·rujU8 set
us down at the Hotel d'Europe. The furniture, cuisine,
language, drcss-cverything, was French. Having tra-
versed Europe, I could have belie.ed myself lodged
again in Paris.
Pietron, my servant, was an old Russian, whose
never-failing theme of conversation was Napoleon I.
Notwithstanding hie Muscovite birth, he had spent
LOW LIn: ~IOX G nn:: D4Co-R01IANS. 119

many ,.~ in tlw service of Le Grand Empereur.


There were but few points or interest in Europe, or in
the East, which Pietron had not visited; and his stories
about thc great gencrals and Uw great events of tJle last
generation, as well as his racy anecdotes and personal
adventures, I shall not soon forget.
-
CHAPTER VL

CITY l'LAGUES AND LAND PLAGUE8.

.. Dumbovitza, apa dulce,


Quien? 0 , fea nu de mal duc~"

"C'ctait Ie temple allies femmes Moldaves


Scrl'aient d'exemple aux hommea les plus braves."


'VmLE descending the Danube, a fellow traveller m-
formed me that Bukarest was a city of immense distances,
boasting of morc luxury than Paris or London. The
jealous, slaveholdillg nobles do not allow an accurate
census to be taken, but multiplyi ng the number of
houses in Bnkarcst by five, we have a population of
100,000 sonls. Bllkarest became the capital of Wal-
lachin in the 17th century. The city coyers almost as
milch grou nd as Paris. I t is situated on the Dllmbo-
vitza, a little river that flows dOWJ) from the Carpathians,
amI un ites with the Argish a short distance below tllC
city. According to a popular say ing, embodied in tile
distich at the bcad of the chapter, they who have
drllnk of the sweet waters of the Dumbovitza, wonld
fain linger along its banks. 11 tis may necount for tJle
fl"C(lllcnt appearance of th e Rus,..,ians in Bllkarest, but
CITY I'LAGUJ<:$ A...~ D LA.."D l'LAGUES. 121

as the muddy and putrid stream is the very" mother


of dead dogs," I avoided it as mue]\ us possible.
The only blliidillgS in Bllkarest worthy of particular
mention, are the Khan of Manouk Bey, the H ospice
of Braneovan, and the H ospital of Cohsa with its Cl1-
rious tower built in 1115 by the soldiers of Charles XII.,
but now falling in ruins. The" City of P eace," us the
name Bukarest impl ies, is composed of palaces and
hovels. I t is merely an aggregation of large villages.
H ere are beantiful gardens tastefully laid Ollt with
walks and flowers, and there morasses submerged every
spring, where frogs and lizards hold their uninterrupted
concerts. The wretched streets pa.ved with stones, or
Witlllogs placed crosswise, are deeply covered with mud
in winter, and dust in summer.
In Bukarest legs are a luxury, and carriages, on
the contrary, fl necessity. Everybody who can afford
it, rides; your servant takes a ean'iage when he goes
on an eJTllnd. The carriage is, in fact, a mark of
respectability, for to go on foot in B ukarest, is the same
as gQing barefoot elsewhere. The streets are always
fnll of vehicles, dashing tllrough the mud or dust at a
furious rate. Snch is the mania for establishments of
this kind, that you will often see a Boyard riding out in
a gaudy carriage imported from Vienna, drawn by the
poorest racks of W allach blood, and mounted with
gipsy postillions in rags. Rere peasants clothed in
sheepskins drive their cart-loads of wood and hay, and
G
122 UOl1MANLA.

there roll by magnificent equipages with superb horsce


and gold-laced footmen in the picturesque Hungarian
or Albanian costume. Now wo approach the palace
of a. Boyard, which turns out to be a rickety, white-
washed pilc, just ready to fall in ruins, and then cross
vast open Sl)aces where half naked gipsics pitch their
tents, or lean iug a. few boards against a wall live under
them in the most abject misery. Never have I seen
luxury and want, beauty and deformity, pride and
povert.y, brought into such glaring contrast. Theyex-
hibit a perfect eamival of civilization, just as freedom
and slavery always do, when existing side by side.
The Boyards are eager to possess coustitutionalliberty,
hut their houses are filled with slaves. Intrigue takes
the place of politics : parties the place of nationality.
Bukarest resounds with an incessant. concert of flltes,
of sports, of the neighing of horses, the howlings of
dogs, and the weepings of slaves." One sees here the
strangest blending of Asiatic costumes and European
manuers. Many of the old Boyards dress in tho rich
Turkish costumc, excepting the tall, pear-shaped coJ"..
pak, which has taken the pluce of the graceful turhan..
The ladies attire themseh'es in the latest modes of
Paris, while the servants who attend them sport the
flowin g robes and brilliant colors of the Albanians.
Many of the Boyards have the well marked Grcek
physiognomy. Their Phanariot education has rendered
• Vailla.ul
CITY I'LAGUES AND LAND I'LAGU l:S. 123

them vain, suspicious, prodigal of words, bold in pros-


perity, and feeble in adversity . They are remarkably
precocious, bcing men at .fifteen and politicians at
twenty. Though ambitious to improve themsel ves, and
to develop their nationality, the Bukarestialls are desti-
tute of true devotion to principle, are without patriotism,
without gratitude for services rendered, without union ,
and excessively proud of a nobility, which in most in-
stances can boast of neither wealth, talent, nor parch-
ment. They travel much in foreign lands, and hospi-
tality is their chief virtue.
The Walh_ch ladies of llukarest have the soft, Ught
complexions and delicate features peculiar to Eastern
beauty. "They are," says Vaillant," sweet, spirituelle
creatures, less passionate than Spaniards, less roman-
csque than the Gennans, and less sti d' than the Eng-
lish." The Daco-Roman women of rank think it well,
perllaps, to be fai thful to their husbands, but very
improper, indeed, not to be faithful to their lovers.
Marriage is greatly abused in Bukarest, and di vorccs are
frequently granted for the most trivial cause. "Have
you scen them dance the Mazourka 1" inquired a Wal-
lach Bovard

of the French traveller S. Mark Girardin .
" Yes!" replied the latter.
" Very well! Mal'ringes with us resemble not a lit-
tle the Mazoul'ka, in which our ladies take 8 tun. with
one cavalier and then with another." Many of them
bave at least as Illuch judg ment as their husbands,
124 ROUUAN IA.

and are evcll more cul'able than they of great


things.
I n Bukarcst there are also many Hungarian and
Armenian families.
"'Vhat strikes one most in this town," says a
Russian traveller,"" "is the variety of costumes and
countenances-a fresh type occurring every moment
amidst this large population. The people hero go
about the town in a much more brisk and busy
way than would bc expected in the lower orders
who have retained their oriental character. The arti-
sans, porters, and working men of Bukarest do not
seem to be afraid of work; but that whieh gives pecu-
liar animation to this place is the immense number of
Jews who inhabit it; active, insinnating, and never
discouraged; they disseminate life and movement about
them, for they spare neither trouble nor fatigue in the
hope of obtaining the smallest recompense. Thns, tJlC
moment you perceive the broad brimmed hat and black
rusty gown of a J ew, you may reckon upon command-
ing, jf you please, the services of a clever, intelligent,
mdefatigable servant, ready to submit to every thing-
contempt or anger.
"YOIl may, without fear, ask anything of this man:
he will answer yon in German, in Italian, perhaps in as
many as four languages ; and for a few piastres, putting
aside all otber business-his identity, his ingenuity, his
• DomidotJ.
CITY I'LAGUE!! AN D LA.."' D PLAQUES. 125

silence, his patience, his eloquence, his virtues, his vices,


his soul, and his body-are all yours. And if for a
momentary service on some sligh t occasion you have
once employed an Israelite, do not imagine it an easy
thing to get rid of him : he is henceforth yours, or
rather you are his, he will ne""er leave you; he will fol-
low you at twenty paces' distance in the street, and at
the dist.'l.nee of twenty paces divine what YOIl want.
H e will take his seat upon the threshold of the house
you Jlave just entered, and on coming out YOIl will meet
his wily respectful glance, soliciting some command.
H e sleeps on your stllircase, under your carriage, be-
comes the servant of your people, greets your dog in the
streets, and is never absent from you an instant j though
you may have fel)elled him with roughness twenty times,
he still persists and perseveres in his attentions.
"After tlHlS rebuffing him, you may find yourself at
some particular moment, for some passing whim, in
want of a J ew. Scarcely have you fonned thc wish
than be appears, as though starting up from the earth,
bending with his accustomed h umility in that peculiar
attitude of the Jews, which is neither erect nor bowed
down, with submissive air and attenti\'e ears. This
moment is the triumph of the Jew. He has purchased
it at the cost of forty-cight honrs of incessant watching,
fatigue, and humiliation. ScareeJy have yOIl spoken
when your wishes are obeyed-obeyed with punctuality,
Ilcllteness, Ilnd respect; and when, after al. this trouble
126 ROUllANIA.

aod self-denial, the poor bearded and tattered sprite


fingers his cherished recompense-that coin which he
has dogged, which he has invoked, whose humble valet
he has been for two days-you soo by his grateful
expression that he commends you to the graciOU8 pro.
tection of Abraham and Isaac, and that he is ready to
undergo the same trouble and fatigue tor a smaller
reward."
The Jews in the Principalities number more than
100,000 souls. At the time of the destruction of Jeru-
salem by Titus, large numbers of them fled from Pales-
tine and took refuge among the Dacians. It is sup-
posed that Dccebalus gave them Thalmun, not far from
the p ass of the Red Tower, for a dwcHing-place.
Certainly, the vilest specimens of the race of
Anubis ever encountered in my life, I have met with
in Wallacbia. The shepberds, however, have excellent
dogs; "but the valuable qualities of these animaIs,"
says the same piquant writer, "scarccly counterbalance
the inconveniences which the unlimited propagation of
the canine race produces in the cities. Without men-
tioning the martyrdom of hearing nt the approach of
night the doleful howlings and angry growlinga of the
pack of dogs which invade the streets perfeetly unmo-
lested, there is real danger in finding one's self alone
and without the defence of a good cudgel, exposed to
become the object of a chase, from which, even with
the nimbleness of a stug, it would be imp08Sible to


crry PLAGUES AND L AND PLAOUF..8. 127

escape in safety . The safest 1)1an, if you arc armcd with


a cudgel, is on the first demonstration of hostile inten·
t ions, to deal a good sounding blow on the nearest
orator of the band. The remainder continue barking,
but they do not approach near enough to bite."
A few years ago there are said to have been more
than 30,000 dogs in Bukarest alon e. Starved and infu·
riated by their long fasts, the scarred and haggard
skeletons, with ears torn, and foaming at the mouth, fell
without mercy upon the cur who had been so iortunate
as tQ at-eal a bone, tripped up pedestrians in the streets,
and sometimes tore each other to pieces in their ferocious
onslaughts. At last the gipsics were called into requi.
sition tQ rid the city of these · four·footed plagucs.
Stimulated by the few paras offered for the carcsse of
every nnmuz7Jed dog, they waged a war of extermina·
tion against the unfortunate quadl"Upeds, and dragged
the victims in triumph through the streets.
The greatest plagues of the Moldo--Wal1achs, especial·
ly those inhabiting the plains, are the clouds of locusts
which at times make their appearance from the steppes
of Southern ~ussia. They occasioned groat ravages in
the yea r 1825, but in 1828-9 visited the Principalities
in such multitudes as tQ intercept for hours the light of
the sun, destroying the crops, and in somc localities,
leaving not a. trace of vegetation behind. A few hours
sufficed to transform an oasis into a desert, for "every
locust," eays a Russian proverb, "bites like a horse,
128 ROOMAN IA.

eats as voraciously as a W"o1t~ and digests what it devours


more easily and quickly than any other "animaV ' The
inhabitants believed that th e day of j udgment had
come. 11lC most superstitions of tllem would not
assist in chasjng the locusts into th e rivers, or help drive
them away, beHeving that th ey were sent by Provi ·
dence, and therefore not to be disturbed. In other
places as soon as a cloud of locusts made its appearan ce
on the horizon, the people, men aud women, young and
old, ran together, and with hand-bells, guns, drums, and
tin pans, set up snch a din as not un frequently to frighten
away the winged scourges.
Smoke was found to be still more effecti ve. When
the locusts showed themselves in th e air, immense bon·
fires of straw and p rairie grass were kindled, which
sometimes caused the locusts to change their dircctioJ.l,
b ut occasionally brought about the very evil they were
intended to p revent. The last ranks, nei ther seeing nor
being sensible of the smoke, push ed those before them
into the flames j the heaps of victims extinguished tlle
iiI-e, and the entire host then settled down UpOIl the
earth, and began their ravages.
I t was calculated that one of these clouds of locusts,
many square acres in extent and so thick as to shade
the earth like a pavilion, contained at least one billion
of insects. They turned from their eourse on either side
to devastate the gardens in the cities and villages j anu
were so numerous as to cover the earth to tlle depth of
CITY PLAQVES A....'>J) I. AND PLAGUES. 129

several inches. At times tlley res.ted only for a moment)


and then flew away to give place to myriads of others.
They could be heard at a great distance, snch was the
noise made by their Wings. The people were seized witl\
terror upon their approach. The locusts fell upon the
ground with the force of ~arge hailstones ; and it was
necessary to close the doors, the windows, and even the
chimneys against them. L1 some instances the inha-
bitants were successful in driving the swarms of insects
into a lake, or into the sea. The advance gaard would
fall into the water and form small floating islands, upon
which myriads upon myriads then settled down in solid
living masses three feet in depth. If the wind blew
from the shore they all perished: otJlCrwise they some-
times managed to get back, and after drying their wiugs
resumed their flight.
WllCn the sun shines tlle locusts generally fly about
two hundred feet above the earth, but in dark, cloudy
weather so low that a man who is encountered by the
locustsis obliged to turn his back upon them and stand
firmly until they have passed. The young locusts show
themselves in the first days of spring, and attain their
full size, about two inches in length, in three or four
weeks. The females deposit fifty to sixty eggs in the
earth in the month of August, after which both males
and females perish.
The g ipsy population of the Danubian Princir alities
numbcra about three hundred thousand sOllls, and pre-
G*
130 ROUliANlA.

sents the marked physical aud mental characteriatiee


of the wandering Bohemians of Central Europe and
the GitanQ8 of Spain.
The ubiquity of the tsigan or gipsy race is one of
the most astonisbing of ethnographical phenomena.
They pitch their tents on the southern slope of the
Himalayas, and along the Indue and the Tigris. I met
them under the shady palm-trees of the Nile, among
the mountains of Palestine and Syria, and in the sha-
dow of tbe Acropolis of Athens. They arc to be seen
in the streets of J eTllsalem and Damascus ; there is a
considerable colony of them near one of tlte gates of
Constantinople; and I found them scattered thickly
over eastern Europe, among the hills of Bulgaria, and
along the auriferous etroams of Transylvania. They
d well among the swarthy tribes of Nubia, Abyssinia,
and Soudan, as well as in the Barbary states. Families
of them have been seen in Siberia. They mingle with
the Turkomans of Independent Tartary, with the J.cs.
ghians of the Caucasus, and with the llibans of Persia.
Save China, Siam, and Japan, there is no part of Asia
in which the race of Romn cannot be fou nd. In Rns-
sia they are scarcely less numerous than in Hungary,
which, after the Danubian P rincipalities, appears to be
the chosen land of thc gipsics. In Italy, in Bohemia,
in the rural districts of F rance and England, and espe-
cially in the southern provinces of Spain, the traveller
can hardly :woid coming in con tact with numerous
CITY I'LAGl'F.s A..'W LAND PLM1UES. 131

Jcprescntatives of this singular people. In ull of these


lands, from the heaths of " merrie England" to the dig.
mnt shores of the Ganges, we behold un exhibition of
the same rustic lifc, and mcet the tawny children of n
race scattered over the earth, as fallen leaves are scat·
tered by the winds of autumn.
That the gipsics should be so widely dispcn;ed is
manellous, but by no means so singular as that tbey
should have presented, in so marked a manner, their
distinguishing characteristics. I n the Occident and in
the Orient, exposed to the chilly winds of the north or
basking in the sunny skies of the south, the gipsies
wear the same dress, speak the same language, and
pun;ue in the main the same nomadic and precarious
life; and this, when the representatives of the race, now
known under many different names, have been sepa·
rated from each other by centuries, oceans, and conti-
nents.
Neither climate, time, nor example has exercised
its usual influence upon them. They do not become
darker under the burning sun of Africa, nor whiter
among the pale-faced children of the Nortb. The
gipsics of to-day are essentially the same as their an-
cestors wbose nomadic ballds appeared centuries ago on
the confines of Europe. They learn nothing from those
among whom they live, and exist an unsocial and pro·
miscuous multitude floating among the fixed dwellings
of civilization. Not onc of the waves of immigration,
132 ROUM.l.N I A.

which h8\'0, from time to timc,swcpt into Europe from


Asia, resembles that of the gipsies. Th eir history is
u nique. Conquered provinces and cities ha ve imposed
their customs upon the conquerors; but the gi psi~
coming as simple pilgrims, have imposed nothing upon~
have borrowed nothing from, the nations among whom
they La vo encamped.
Dispersed morc widely over the world than even the
tattered remnants of Israel, they arc, ethnographically,
wandering vagabonds-politically, democrats of the
open air and good adventure-religionsly, outward con-
form ists to the faith of those among whom they move
and have a. temporary being, but cherish ing at the
same lime a mysterious belief of their own. H olding
themselves usually for Oh ristians Or Mohammedans,
they arc without Christian or Mohammedan worsh ip;
belonging to the great world, they arc without worldly
possessions j and, making a pretence to patriarcha l
customs, they lead a \'agrant life, and exhibit the cha-
racteristics of carnivorous animals,
Scattered :1S they are, and recognising the tempom l
and religious authority of those whose lands they in
habit, it is believed by pcrsons who 1I1\-\'e studied them
and their institutions that they haye a I'-ecret but ex-
tended political ol'ganizatioll-Ilay, that there is a ki ng
of the gipsics; but where he Ii \'es, where thc court
of this monarch whooc domaius are wider than thOilC
ruled over by spiritual R ome, is a question slm open,
CITY I'J,AGUJ.:S AND LAND !'LAGUI,S. 133

The impression prevails throughout the East of


Europe that the g ipsies arc one of the lost tribes of
brad; that they arc descendants of the Israelites who
cansed om SavioUi' to be crucified, and for that offence
have been scattered over the earth, and condemned to
personate the 'Valldering Jew.
The gipsies declare themselves to be of Egyptian
origin, and arc, in fact, termed Egyptians in many
parts of Europe ; hence also the llame gipsy. Their
features cannot be mistaken. They are of ordinary
stature, robust, nervous, and manifest a Bedouin par-
tiality for tent life, the open ab', and the beautifnl stat'S.
The bronze complexion 01' the gipsies, their black hair,
buming eyes. teeth of i\'orY whitellCss, long chests and
pmjeeting shoulders suggest an Ethiopian origiu. 'l'heir
nakedness, relieved by a few scattering rags, a haughty
and almost warlike gait, and the expressive gestures
which characterize their conversation, also give them a
striki ng resemblance to wandering Hottentots or Kaffirs.
Theirs, however, is ilOt an African origin . The lan-
guage of the gipsies is a melange of the Sanscrit,
with terminations and wot'ds borrowed from the people
among whom they live. In Turkey, for instance, they
employ the Sanscrit root, with the Turkish tcrminations.
The many traces of patrial'chal life which they exhibit
-each nomadic band hav ing its ehi'ef-their oriental
language, and many thinhY'fl about them suggest enstem
life, eastem origin, enstern institutions.
13< ROUliANIA.

Though their manner of life, 8<l1U feu et lieu, is


highly unfavorable for the retention of beauty, I have
often scen females among them whose fonna Phidias
would have chosen for models. He has a conception
of gipsy beauty, withont beholding it, who has seen
the fair damsels of Cyprus, where once stood the bun-
dred Paphian altars burning incense to Venus; or
watched, on the islands of the ..£gean, or in the shady
villages of Asia Minor, the timid daughters of Greeian
blood collected round some gushing fountain, or bear-
ing away its crystal wealth in graceful vases, 88 in the
days of old.
In lower Hungary I heard a gipsy song, which is
said to be a great favorite wIth the wandering children
of Roma. The Bon of a nobleman became enamored
of 3. beautiful gipsy girl, and married her. Bot she
pined away in the castle of her lord. One day a band
of gipsiea encamped near by, and as she sat by the
window, her ears caught the weird accente of her race.
I give the words from Marmier.
• " Tho wmd whistle$ over the heath,
The moon danoes upon the wave!!,
The Gip!ly lights his fire in t he shade of t he fOlWll,
Yuch7.&, Yuchza.
Froo is the cagle in the air,
Free the !!almen in the river,
Free the deer in the forest-
Freer t he Gip!lY where'er he wandel'll,
Yueh7.ll., YuchUl.
CITY I'LAGIiES A:<oD L AN D PL AG UES. 135

Vaiden, wilt Uiou live in my dwelling?


I'll give thee garments of zibclioe,
APd ncckJaws of golden duca.la.

ThE> ULlamed. horee loovell D)t the green prairie for a glittering hamellll,
The eagle lcavtlll not the I'OC.'ks of the mountain (or a gilded cage,
The child of Roma leaVCII not tho liberty of the fields for garmeuts o(
zibelille and neckJaccs of golden ducata.

Y'aMon, w ilt llIou go willI me t
I'll give thee pearls and diamonds,
I'll give thee a couch of purple,
I 'll give UICO a royal palace.

My pearls are roy white teeth,


My diamOIldi! are my black eyes that sbioo like tho lijrhtning,
My couch is tho green lWth,
Y Ypalace the world,
Yuchu., Y ucho:a.

Free is ULC eagle ill the pir,


F ree the salmon in the river,
Free tho deer in the forest,
Freer tILe Gip!l)' wherc'cr he wtLnden,
Y uchza, Yuch="

When the nobleman returned he found his castle


desolate. The gipsy bride had flown , to return to the
romantic life of her people.
Gipsy bands first appeared in Moldavia in th e year
1417, and in a short time the race became widely dis-
seminated over Europe. In the Danubian Principalities
they are speedily redueed to the condition of slavery,
'lot as prisoners )f war, nor as the debtors of the wealthy
136

Boyard;;, bnt by the right of the stronger; and tlle few


efforts made to ameliorate their pitiable condition have
thus far been attended with but little success.
The possession of the 250,000 gipsy slaves DOW held
in Moldavia and \V allachia is about equally divided
between the governments of the respccti\"c Principali-
ties and private individuals. TIle Crown Gipsies arc
subdivided into four classes. Some of them are em-
ployed in wushing the river sands for gold. Others
labor as smiths, make wooden spoons, or wander from
village to villfloooc with bears which they have taught
to dance j and others still pay a small tribute, and lend
the lives of vagabonds.
The gipsics held as private })ropcrty h.clong either
to the monasteries or to l)rh'ute individuals.
In 1844 a law was passed, manumitting the slaves
which belonged to the government Ilnd the monasteries,
but has not been carried into execution.
The gipsies belonging to private individuals haYe
fixed dwellint;,'S, their position corresponding ncarly to
that of the slaves in our own country. They arc, for
the most part, the house and field scnants of tllC
wealthy Bayard families. From being cOlUltantly
brought in contact with their masters, they have lost
lIlallY of tJte distinctive characteristics of the gipsy
race. So coml)letely have the vatra.ui forgotten tile
language and peculiar cnstoms of theil nomadic breth-
ren, that it is difficult to distinguish them from the
CITY l'LAG U ~:S ANI) LANO P LAGUES. 131

Wallachian peasantry. Some of them live in villages,


engaged in agriculture, or serving as masons, tailors,
and shoemakers; but the greater p art do service in the
city palaces of the Boyal'ds. The influence of this hate-
ful institution upon both the master and the slave must
be everywhere essentially the same. F amilies arc
broken up, virtue disregarded, marriage dishonored,
humanity insulted and wronged in "\Vallaehia and Mol-
davia, the same as in other slave-holding countries. The
bastinado upon the soles of the fee t, the latter elevated,
80 that merely the head and shoulders of the sufferer
rested on the ground, was formerly the ordinary mode
of punishment for the slaves. The lush, spiked collar,
and close confinement arc now employed. In B u-
karest it is a common thing to h ear that this or that
Boyard has mu rdered one or more slaves. Gipsy
blood Hows in the veins of the best Boyard fa mil ies.
A ble-bodied males can be purchased for less than jj)100.
Females, however, are usually mllch more expensive,
their value depending upon their youth and natural
channs. No thought or attention is paid to the educa-
tion of the slaves; and so complete is the authority
of the Boyards over these human chattels, that the
government officers are not allowed to enumerate
them in the census. This unl imited authority of owner-
ship, the entire absence of instruction, and the cheap·
ness of the article, arc evidently improvements l1pon
the system as it exists in th() SoutllCrll States. But in •
138 ROUMANIA.

Eastern Europe there are no bloodhound&-no fugitive


Slave Laws. Even Austria, with all her political mns,
unbinds the chains of the slave, and makes of the serf
a freeman. Before the occupation of the Danubian
Principalities, thousands of Wallachian gipsies were
under the protection of the Austrian Consulate at Bu-
karest, and since that event they have not failed to
protect the unfortunate slaves from the eMlelty and
rapacity of their Boyard masters. A movement is now
on foot to emancipate the gipsy slaves in Moldavia, but,
owing to the disordered condition of the Principalities,
little good is to be .expected from that quarter.
CHAPl'ER VII.

THE DA()()O-ROHANS.

"Tbraciaus who howl around an infant's birth,


And giv!) their funeral hours to songs and mirth."
"Yaro-milking Scythiaos living in wagolll!."

IN the orbi8 terrarum of the ancients, all that immense


region which lies between the Volga and the Danube,
was regarded as a part of Scythia, whose rude tribes
first became known after the campaign of Darius TIys-
taspcs. The Dacre and the Getre, who were usually
termed Scythians, and whose laws, language, and eus-.
toms were the same, belonged to the great Sarmatian
family inhabiting the region of the OXllS and Jaxartcs.
Impelled to nomadic life by a love of adventure, and
closely pursued by the Alans, they migrated into
Europe in the fourth century before the Christian
era, and gave the Dame of Sarmatia to the vast region
which they there inhabited. After settling in Europe,
the Sannatians appear to have made some progress in •
civilization. Antiquity boasts of the simplicity of their
customs, their attachment to pastoral life, and hatred
of foreign 'domination. Zamohis, a disciple of Pythn.-
140 ROUlI ANIA.

goras, became their lawgiver, and afte r his death their


god.
Alexander, in p ushing his cou quests northward, met
with a most obstinate resistance from tJle Dacian k ing,
Sarmis. They werc ultimately subdued, however, by
the conqueror of tJlC world, and afte r his death, Dacia,
with Thrace, fell to the share of Lysimachus. To th e
latter the D acre were unwilli ng to submit, and in
attempting to bring them under his authority, Lysima-
chus himself was drawn into an ambush on the Scythian
plains; and his entire army, when on the point of perish-
ing with thirst, fell into the hands of the enemy. They
relate that Lysimachus was sct at liberty, and from a
feeling of gratitude married the daughter of the barbar10
king. I t is morC probable, however, that be was ran-
somed with gold.
F rom this time the history of the Dacre is quite
obscure, until 50 ll. c.) when they chose Barabestes for
their leader, and under him carried tJleir conquests to
the sources of the Drave. The successes of the D acian
chieftain rendering it necessary to check h is caree r,
Octavianus Augustus marched against him, but havi ng
been wounded in Dalmatia, intrusted the legions to
Statilius Taunts. Barabestcs promised to co-operate with
Anthony, but was slain by his own people, so jealous
were they of the Roman power. "Wllen CrasSllS was sent
against the Dacians they chose Cotyson for their king,
who feU in battle, after huving proved so dangerous an
THE J)ACO-Jm~IANS. H1

enemy to the Emperor Augustus, that the latter wished


to make an ally of the barbarian by receiving his
daughter in mardage.
In the long interval to the reign of Domitiall we
hear but little of the Dacre, except that both Tiberius
and Titins Cato made unsuccessful expeditions against
them. During the reign of Domitian, Dums, the Daciall
king, led his army across the Damlbe, and overcame
the Romans in a pitched battle, in which Appins Sabi·
nus lost his life. After waging a long and terrible war
agai nst the Romans, Duma resigned his power in favo r
of Dccebalus, who, in connexion with the king of the
Pacthians and the Sarmatians, carried his anns so far
into the Roman empire that Domitian was compelled to
purchase pcace by the payment of an annual tributc.
The Dacian kings were chosen from among the peo-
ple, but when elected, their power was absolute. Dece-
balus owed Ilia elevation to his valor and h is intense
hatred of the Romnns. Ambitious of glory and jealolls
of the fame of Dums, hc resolved to continue the war
wh ich th.e latter had begun. All, however, appeared
to be lost at Talpa. Defeated and e1oS<lly pursued by
Jnlianns, the lieutenant of Domitian , he caused an im·
mcnse number of trees to bc cut down, and the 1:111
stumps to he clothed so as to give them the appearance
of Dacian soldiers. The stratagem succeeded, and the
Romans gave over the pursuit. Decebal us speedily
revenged himself upon his enemies, and in addition to
142 ROUMANtA.

the tribute imposed upon D omitian, obliged him to


send the most skilful artisans in Rome to in.struct his
people and fortify his cities.
Trajan mounted the imperial throne in the year 98,
and assumed the reins of government with a degree of
energy unknown to his immediate predecessors. In IC66
than two years he was at the head of the legions at-
tempting to recover what Rome had already lost, and
if possible to free her for ever from the barbarians of the
North.
When the messengers of the Dacian king presented
themselves for the usual tribute-" Go," said he, "to
your master; and tell him that I give not money, but
anns." Both sides prepared for the struggle. The
Dacre were the fi rst great swarm from the northern
hive, and the imperial eagles had, thus far in their
course of conquest, encountered no enemies 80 fierce
and formidable. They preferred death to subjugation ,
and believed that R ome, already tributary, would 800n
hear within her walls the tramp of their barbaric
legions.
Danger as well as ambition induced Trajan to direct
the ca..mpaign in l)erson. H is march lay through Hun-
gary, the ancient Pannonia, across the Theiss, and along
the valley of the Maros to Sarmisegeiliusa, the strong-
hold of Dccebalus. With some difficulty the Emperor
brought the barbarians to a pitched battle near Thorda,
in Transylvania. The Dacre were entirely routed .
'flit; DACQ-COlLl.NS. 143

They retreated to their capital, and to this day the Wal-


lac11ian peasant points to the cross fic1ds of Thorda as
the" prat de Trajan," or Trajan's field.
According to the Moldavian traditions, Deeebalus
Ii rst encountered the Romans in Mresia., and after a
signal defeat, was forced to recross the Danube. The
following year Trajan carried the war into Dacia, and
with such sanguinary vigor that on one occasion he was
obliged to usc the greater part of his wardrobe in sup-
plying bandages for the wounded. Dccebalus, hmniliat-
cd by succcssi ve defeats, repaired at last to the Roman
camp, and sued for peace. This was granted on condi-
tion of surrendering all his fortified postE and instnl-
ments of war into the hands of the Romans.
The campaign having thus terminated, Trojan left
a strong garrison in SanniscgethU1;a, and retunled to
Rome. The haughty spirit of Deeebalus could not long
endure subjection. Regardless of 11is oath to the Em-
peror, he secretly reorganized the Dacre, put the Roman
garrisons to the sword, constructed new fortifications
and implements of war, and attacked the Jazyges, the
allies of the Romans. Trajan again placed himself at
the head of the legions in order to reduce the stubbonl
Dacre to a complete state ~f subjection, or extenninato
them altogether. The Emperor was accompanied by
his nephe,v Hadrian. Having reached the Danube by
a shorter route than in tbe previous campaign, he win-
t.ered in Mresia, and spent the following summer in
144 ROUlIIAN IA.

erecting the bridge below the Iron Gate to which I


have already alluded.
These stttpcnde 18 preparations struck terror into the
hearts of the barbarians. Dccebalus offered and even
sued for peace, hut his proposals were rejected. IIe
Ulcn attempted to enlist the killdrcd nations against
the Romans. Amazed at the splcn d i~ achievements of
'i'rajan, nOlle would consent to engage in a cause which
promised so little to the Dacian king.
TIle courage and genius of Dcccbalns rose in pro-
portion to the emergency. While the Emperor was
spanning the Danube he fortified his camp ncar the
Iron Gate with a triple wall, ",hiel], however, crumbled
before tJ\C massiyo engines of the Romans.
It soon became cyidcnt to both parties tbat they
were engaged in a war of extermination. No quarter
was asked, and nOlle was given. The Romans who fen
into the hands of the barbarians were subjected to the
most inhuman tortures, the women find children even
urg ing the rough soldiers to greater el'l1elty, and stain-
ing their own white nnns with the blood of their
enemies.
" That Dccebalus conld not attain by force he at-
tempted to accompl ish by stratagem. Secret emissa-
ries were sent to assassinate Trajan, but fai led in tllC
bloody purpose. Messengers fl·om Decebalus at IfiSt
announced his determination to snrrender, and re-
quested that Long-inus, the fl"i Clld or the Emperor,
TilE DACO-ROllA:x'S. 145

wight be sent to his camp to impose the tenus of


peace.
No sooner was this complied with Ulan the treache-
rous king mllrdered him in cold b lood. Trajan swore
by tho twelve gods of Rome that be would avenge her
SOil , and exterminate the Dacre. for over. H e had
shared the dangers of the common soldiery, and even
given his Jinen to bandage their wounds; now he
would yield up his life for Longi nus and the glory of
Rome. Ambition and rovenge incited the Romans to
blood and carnage : patriotism and despair, the most
powe rful motives to action, urged Ule barbarians to Ule
ullequal conflict.
Slowly Decebalus retreated towards his capital, dis-
puting every incll of soil Wilh determined vigor. The
Dacre, as if wisbillg to hasten their own destruction by
exasperating their enemies, suspended the body of
Longinus from the walls of Sarmisegethusa in full
view of the Roman cohorts. The siege of the ill·fated
city was one of the most remarkable in ancient t.imes.
W e can only regret that no Sal lust or Livy has. given us
the particulars of a defence as heroie as. that of Car-
thage, and m ore dreadful in its results than the fall of
Saragossa. Barbarian courage and stratagem could
not successfully withstand the well organized operations
of the besicging anny. 1110 walls of Sarmisegethus&
trembled and fell before the terrible engines of destruc-
tion brought to bear upon them.
7
1<6

After a I011g and bloody assault tlle R omans entered


the city to find it inhabited mainly by the dead.
Neither war, nor famine, nor pestilence had broken
the spil'i~ of the besieged. W omen had emulated men
in combat and in heroic endurance. The R oman sol-
diers beheld with amazement the dreadful spectacle
exhibited within the city walls. The few sur vivors
were put to the s,,,ord, or escaped to the mountains.
The fate of' Longinus was reserved for Dcccbalus, but,
rather than f,l11 into the hands of the . .-ictors, he plunged
a dagger into his brcflst, and died as h e had lived an
implacable enemy of Rome. Many of his brave com-
panions also chose to die by their own h ands rather
than be led ill triumph down the Sacred Way. Yieilis,
the secretary of Dccebalus, slwed his life by discover-
ing to Trojan the immense treasures which his master
had concealed in the bed of a river.
The city was razed to the dllSt.. As Scipio h ad
destroyed Car thage, Licinius Corinth, and Ti tus J eru-
salem, so did Trajan Sarmisegethnsa-. The other Da-
cian cities experienced the fate of the capital. The
R omans pursued the "'ork of destruction e\'en beyond
the b anks of the D nicster. Tm.jan had sworn to ex-
terminate the D acre, and at the close of the war, 106
A.D., all that remained of the haughty nation were a

few refugees in the wilds of the Carpathians. In his


oratiou to the Senate he declared, " I /llone have dared
to a tl.a<:k the inhabitants of the D anube; I have anni-
147

b.ilated the IHl.tion of tho Dacre, and that :1\ less than
five years."
Next to Hannibal, Dcccbalus was the most dangerous
enemy of Rome; and had there been no Trajan 011

the throne of the Cresar'S, the standards of the Daciall


k ing might have floated above the walls of the Eternal
City.
Few of her enemies, indeed, so little deserved the
name of ba.rbarian as Decebalns. S. Mark Girardin
says of him, that he invited to his kingdom artists and
sayans from every part of the civilized world. Caniniu8
selected the conquest of Dacia as the subject of a heroic
poem, and Pliny the Younger, in a congratulatory
letter to his friend upon the excellence of his choice,
wrote:-
"No subject is more appropriate or more poetical.
You will have to describe long canals dug in unknown
countries, immense bridges constructed for tlle first
t ime over wide rivers and impetuous torrents, camps
pitched among mountains never before trod by civilized
men, and a king who was forced to fiee, to die-but
who died the death of a hero."
All of the immense region between the Theiss and
the E uxine, tlle Dniester and the Danube, was con~
verted into a Roman province, and Moldavia and Wal-
lachia became known on the chart of the empire as
Dacia Transalpilla.
While A poUodorus of Damascus was wreathing

148 ROtilL\NI,\ .

the conquest of Dacia upon the slender column which


Tnljfln erected between the Capitol and the Quirinal
Hill, so tbat the visitor of to-da.y may trace upon its
well sculptured tablets the fortresses, anus, and C()5-
tumes of the fallen people, the emperor conceived the
idea of making Dacia the defence of Italy, and the
garden of Europe. Rome was at that time at the very
zenith of her power; and though there was little to
invite the march of the legions farth er north, it was
hoped tbat Dacia would prove an effective bulwark
against the Hlms, whose countless hordes were then
approaching, and the fame of whose deeds had al ready
reached the imperial city.
The mineral wealth of Dacia, rendering her, indeed,
the Et d()J'ai/Q of the East, and the astonishing richness
of the soil, attracted thither thousands of colonists from
the Roman world. Eutropius says thnt Trojan sent
thither countless multitudes of men for the purpose of
cultivating the land, and building and inhabiting cities.
Another and a more important cnuse also occasioned
a vast emigration from Italy.
Already, within the first balf-dozen years of the
Christian era, great scarcity had begun to be expe-
rienced at Rome. :bIore than two hundred tllOU8and
paupers were fed from the p ublic magazines, and, ac-
cording to Suetonius, the Emperor Augustus compelled
eighty thousand persona to leave tile city, and seck a
livelihood in the coulltry or in t.he diiiltant provinces.
TIlE DAc(}-ROliANS. 149

Rome and a.ll Italy became dependent upon the impor-


tation (if corn from abroad, especially from Africa.
The l)ricc of provisions grcatlyadvanccd after the
destruction of the city by Nero, so that peacocks, Wllich
were in common lise on the tables of the patricians, were
sold in the market-place for two Inmdred and fifty de-
narii,* while a pair of the meanest plebeian shoes cost
no less than two·fifths of the same sum. A pound of
meat brought eight delUuii, and for less than two the
barber put not his J'llZor to the Roman chin. Great
pllblic festivals were as characteristic of Roman life as
were the Jul feasts among the nations of ancient Ger-
many, and were continucd down to a late period of the
empire. Two hundred thousand citizens were frequently
invited at once, and while, in the time of Allgnstns, the
entertainment of each guest cost the state but ten de-
nari i, the same cost, in the time of Commodus, nearly
seventy times as m\¥:h.
But the provinces of I taly, though vieing with the
most favored parts of EnrOl)C in fertility and natural
wealth, were totally unable to sustain the etHux of po-
pulation from Rome. The canse of this lay in the
wretched system of agriculture pursued by the R omans
in consequence of a vital defect in thei r social system.
Already, in the year 92, Domitian had ordered that no
morc vineyards should be planted, and that half of those

• t he dCIlar1us Wa./! worth about w.tceu oeul.$,


150

then grown should be destroyed, in order to make way


for the fields of com.
Abundaot experience had 1)roved that, to develop
the agricultural resources of a state to the utmost extent,
the land must be divided into smo.ll estates, the cult.i-
vators of which ha,'c a greater or less interest in the
soil upon which they labor. Troops of slaves, pining
for the liberty which they or their ancestors had enj oyed
in the provinces overrun by the Roman legiolls, and
worked by cruel masters of l)!cbcinn blood, naturally
took but little care in cultivating the estates along the
Tiber and tJ1C Po, whose patrician owners were acting
ns questors or proconsuls in distant parts of the cm)irc,
or lounged away the long Italian summers in country
villas, to return with more zest during the months of
winter to the excitements of the forum and the gladia-
torial exhibitions, whcre were wont to assemble the
pride and wealth of the Eternal City.
This social evil increased to a remarkable extent.
It was decreed thnt any person might cultivate 11110e-
eupied land, b ut notwithst.'1nding this wise regulation,
vast tracts remained llnsown almost in sight of the walls
of Rome. 'Vcalth aeclUDulated in the imperial city,
and, wltHc Rome grew more opu lent, I taly bccame im-
poverished. Many of the artisans and free citizens
emigrated, but some of those who remained acqui red
by speculation enormous wealth. Shoemakers rivalled
patricians in display, and MartinI mcntions a barber,
'filE DA(X)-ROMANS. 151

Cyrenins, who possessed consular estates. It was in


vain that Cresar ordercd that half of the shepherds should
be freemen . In the Senate S. Scverus moved that the
slaves should be designated by their dress, but his motion
was lost on the ground that t1leY far outnwnbered
the freemen , and that, by wearing a badge, they would
become conscious of their strength. Pliny also com-
plained that the land was for the most pal't inhabited by
beggars ancI slaves. H ence, when the rich plains of
Dacia were tllrown open to the starving millions of
Italy, paupers were not only attracted thither by thou-
sands, but even patricians of proconsular rank, whose
slaves were numbered by hUIW-reds, and in many cases
by thousands, were seen moving along Trajan's W ay.
Fair Italy seemed to have been transported to the
,"egion of the Ister. Sarmisegethusa rose frolll IlCr
n uns and received the name of Ulpia Trajana. F orests
disappeal'ed, and the vast prairies and marshes of
Dacia were soon covered with cultimtcd fields and
growing hamlets. Vineyards purpled the Dacian
hi lls; and sumptuous villas, modelled after tllOSC
of Italy, became the seats of culture and opulence.
R oman" ways," such as no other people ever built,
and whose remainsstiU attest thdh ancientmagni£cence.
furrowed the land, serving as arteries of commerce,
and military roads for the legions. Cities, deemed
worthy of receiving p refects and magistrates from
home, sprung up as if by enchantment along the
152 ROUMA.NIA.

lower D anube. The gods of the Eternal City, usurp-


ing the seats of the Sarmatian divinities, took up their
residence in splendid temples. Beautifu l statues, the
creations of Grecian and R oman art, replaced the
shapeless simulacra of the D acian deities, and the
polytheism of the unlettered pagan readily gave way
to the pantheism of his more civilized conqueror.
After all, there was but a sUght difference between
Phor:m and Jupiter, Mithra aud Mars, Belen and
Apollo. Men everywhere resemble each otb er, and
men represent their gods in themseh'es.
Where the R omans conquered there they lived,
there reproduced Italy and R ome. Such was the
reslIlt of their victories, "bearing the sword in one hand
and the torch of civilization in the otllCr."
The fall of D acia, however, marked the cuhninating
point of Roman dominion, as well as of R oman great-
ness. I t was in that distant p rovince that the tide of
empire first tumed, and flowed hack toward thc impe-
r ial city. TllCre, stubborn Terminus for the first time
yielded and retired. 'Vave after wave of barbarism
came rushing down from the n orth, each extending
further than the last, until lklme herself was sub-
merged.

lladrian, jealous of the fame of Tmjan, and envious
of the architect who had immortalized the triumphs of
his master in marble, destroyed the bridge across the
D anube only eighteen years after its erectior.. The
'fin; DACO - r:O~I'\X3. 153

R cmans, howevel', held possession of Dacia many


years afterwards. Undel' Antoninus r hilosoplms alone
numerous representatives of six:t.een natiolls are said
to ha\'e settled in their midst. Down to the year 2]2 the
colonists in Dacia were acknowledged as Homan citi-
zens. I n 25i .A.D., the Gotlls overran the country, and
thirteen years later the E mperor Aurelian entirely
withdrew the legions from the left bank of the Danube.
Many thousands of' the colonists settled in Mrosia,
while others took refuge amollg the Clll·pathians.
The power of' the Sarmatian h·ibes was broken by the
irrnption of the Goths, the Vandals, and other Teut.onic
mees. They in turn disappeared bef'ore the IIn ns,
wh ile the latter were succeeded by the Gepidre and the
Lombards. The Slavic races first made theirappearanee
on the lower Danube in the fifth centu ry of' our era.
I n 812, the Bulgarians, under Crumus, planted their
standards bef'ore t.he walls of Byzantium.
As early as the beginning of the ninth century the
Magyars appeared west of the Urnl mountains and the
V olga. The ffi raine fell into their h ands, and th e
Shwes were obliged to give way before the two hun-
dred thousand Asiatic warriors, who fonned the van of
the conquedng host. Arpad became the founder of a
dynasty, and before the close of the ninth century
clouds of Magyar caval ry watered their horses on the
banks of the Sereth and the Danube. They soon made

•..
themselves )nnstcrs of Dneia alHl P nnnoni a. Trall8yl•
I"
154 ROUlUNIA.

vania was placed under the government of a Palatine,


and compelled to defend the castem boundary of the
kingdom, while the ad\·cnturous Magyars were intent
upon carrying their conquests further to the west.
I have thus merely given the names of some of the
barbarous tribes which swarmed in Eastern Europe, and
caunot proceed without referring to a few of their
peculiarities. Until the time of Sarmis, the Scythians
do not appear to hayo been acquainted with the art of
builcling houses, even in the simpl est form . Besides
their wagons, the sound of whose wheels rolling on
the frozen Danube, Ovid enumerated among his atHie-
tions, they dwelt in the recesses of the forests and the
caves of the mountains. Scorning to touch the plough,
they knew nothing of agriculture, and snbsisted chiefly
upon the milk and fl esh of their herds. Some of the
Scythian tribes cut off the thumbs of thei.r prisoners.
1110 Avars yok ed their women to the wagons in whicb
tbeir nomadic bands were accllstomed to wander from
plain to })1ain . The Huns mutilated the faces of their
new-born infants, in order that thcy might b ecome ac-
quainted with iron sooner than with the matenlal milk.
Among the H uns and tJle Magyars the ch iefs took
the lead in the battles and migrations, but were in no
other respect elevated abovc tll cir companions. Any
warrior migbt brillg them before the ancients of the
people for judgment. The latter were selected on ac-
count of their d ccd~ in wflr fIIld sk ill in council.

Till<; nACO-RO:'IANS. 155

The Alans lived in wagons. In these rude struc-


tures, wi th covers wo\'cn from the twigs of trees, they
traversed the steppes of Asia and Europe. There, their
children worc born and nourished, and in them the
women lmrsucd their peaceful occupations. Wherever
they wandered, there was their home, their country.
When t hey lmltco, the wagons were disposed in an
immonsc circle, within which they guarded the flocks
and herds.
From youth the Alans were accustomed to eques-
trian excr('isc. It was disgl'accful to go on foot. So
fond of theit, horses 'were they, that the rider and the
steed often partook of the same repast. When the
pastures and forages werc exhausted in one locality,
the rolling city moved to anolhCI".
'Vith the AJans war was equally a pleasure and a
pursuit. To die of old age, or from accident, was the
greatest of misfortunes. The survivors envied tho fate
of slloh as fell in combat. 11101'0 was sometlling wild
and fearful in the a})pem·ance of the light-haired
squadrons, as, armod with rude shields and spears,
they rushed into the conflict, the earth quaking be·
neath the hoofs of their horses. Skilled in stratagem,
tJlC Ilhm of their attack was as secret as the onset
was terrible. ];01· trophies, they covered their steeds
with skins of tho enemies they had slain in battle.
Slavery was not permitted among thom, and after a
time the prisoners were set free. H ospitality was a
156 ROUYANIA.

sacred dut.y. TIle strauger passed from family to family,


each one accountable to the last fo r the safety of the
guest, until he reached his destination. They bad nei-
ther temples nor altars, but in imitation of tJle neigh-
boring nations set up a spear in the earth, and worship-
ped it as the emblem of the god of war. Among some
of the barbarians, wives werc obliged to slay them-
selves upon the graves of their husbands.
The time had come for the Daco-Romans to playa
morc conspicuous part in the history of eastern Europe.
I n 1290 Rudolph the Black, or Radn iYew-u, as he is
called in the Roumanian dialect, with a large band. of
faith ful adherents, departed for the last time from the
Carpathians, and descending towards the Danube, took
possession of Tergovist and the adjacent plain. He
afterwards chose .Argisch for his residence, and adopted
the Roman eagle and the cross as the escutcheon of the
Principalit.y . Rudolph styled himself, by the grace
of God, Prince of all Roumania and Duke of Amlosh.
He di vided the land among his fayori tc chiefs, and '
fonned n. senate, consisting of twelve persons, to assist
in its government.. The boundaries of the Principali ty
were soon extended from 1110 C:lI1:mthians to the
Danube.
Another band of Daco-Romans had found a. secu re
retreat among the head waters of the Theiss. But, in
1359, about seventy years after the fOl1ndation ofWal-
Jachin., and one year before :Mnrud mnde A(lrianopJc
Tin: f)ACO-I:o~rAXS. 157

the capital of the Ottoman empire ill Europe, Bogden


Drngoscll, wilh a large band of his countrymen, left his
adopted home, and recrossed the Carpathians. They
descended among the Tartar tribes, and founded a new
Principality, which was first named after their chief,
but afterwards became known as Moldavia, from one
of its principal rivers. Trom the circumstance of the
chief having found a buffalo's skull in the river Theiss,
hc adopted Dlat as t he escutcheon of the new state.
The government of the Principality dift'cred but little
in form from that of Wallachia. In both, the nobles,
from whom the present Boyards are descended, SOOIl
became fenda1lords. Originally the peasants were al-
lowed to possess land, and the prisoners of war became
slaves. Both of these classes, however, were reduced
to the same level in the course of one or two genera-
til)ne.
The Principality founded by Dragoseh soon acq\lired
more than its prcsent extent of ten·itory. Its princes,
Iikc those of ,,\Vallachia, were eleetivc.
From the 13th to the 16th eenull)' was by far tbe
most brilli:mt period in the history of the Principalities.
Many useful institutions were founded, and the land
was enriched by trade and industry.
The Boyards formed, in time, an aristocratic repub-
1ic, the snme as in republican P oland, with the dificr-
ence only that in the Principalities they did not poS$css
the right of life and death over the peasants. Rarely
158 ROUMANIA.

faithful to Ow Princes, or faithful to each other, the)'


were perpetually engaged in fac tions which enervated
the strength of the governments, and even threatened
their existence. Third parties were frequ ently called in
as mediators, and the Turks did not fail to make use of
the Ol)portunity thus afforded to extend their power
north of the Danube.*
Compared with the European States, Moldavia is
abnost as large as the kingdom of Greece, and contains
a greater number of inhabitants, while Wallachia is con-
siderably larger than H olland and Belgium together.

Bukarest has the same latitude as the capital of :Maine,
and Yassy, the chief city of MoldaYia, is further north
than Quebec.
The people may be divided into two great classes-
first, taxable persons, and, second, such as arc exempt
from taxation. To the latter belong the Boyards, num-
bering about two thousand, who alone enjoy political
rights, tJle clergy, privileged families, and servants.
The artisans, licensed traders, and PCl1S!Ults alone bear
the heavy burdens of the state. '!'he condition of the
pcasants is b ut little removed from that of slaves.
Though among the most thinly settled portions of
Europe, the Danubian Principalities have a population
of 4,000,000 souls, of whom 2,500,000 belong to Wal-

• Vide Historical Sketch of the Danubi:\n Principalities UDder the


PbIDSri9tS IIlId in later timC8. -Zftll ony.
TilE DACO-ROlfA..."'-S. 159

lachia, and the remainder to Moldavia. The Roumani,


however, are not confined to the Principalities, but are
scattered through Transylvania, B essarabia, and tlle
Bukovania numbering in all more than 7,000,000
people. They have preserved in an eminent degree
the physical type and the customs of their ancestors,
the Roman colonists who settled in Dacia and absorbcd
ilie rcmnant of the haughty nation conquered by
Trojan.
The Dano-Romans call their land Zara R CfUma1U8ca,
the Roman country, and their language LimlJa RCfUma-
1U8ca, the Roman tongue. Trajan is the Romulus of
Dacia. There are souvenirs of Jlim everywhere, in
the traditions as well as in the superstitions of the
people. The Milky Way is " Trajan's Way," the
mountain peak is his watch-tower. The elevated fore-
head, the aquiline nose, the full, dark, melancholy eye,
the southern tinge, all tell of the old Roman, though
the peasant be clothed ill sheepskins, and knows not
the names of the heroes from whom he may have
descended.
Ai;k the simplest peasant who he is, and he will
answer, ".& .sum Roum.an." The eonunon saying, La
un R(fUman dece Sassi, one Rollman is worth ton
Saxons, shows the estimation i n which these ignorant
p eople hold themselves ill comparison with their neigh-
bors.
The Limba Romamesca is the eldest dnugl ,ter of the
160 ROCll AXIA.

Latin tongu~, and differs not essentially from the vulgar


Latin, the lingua rUfJtica, of the time of Trajan. The
Daco-Romans have adopted many Slavic and Turkish
words, yet their dialect so nearly resembles the Ita1ian
that I cou1d make myself understood among them.
One of the A ustrian regiments stationed in Bukarest
during my visit was from Italy, and these mutua l
descendants of the ancien t Romans-tbough sep arated
from cadi other more than seventeen centuries con-
versed togeth er without difficulty, and as far as per-
mitted, fraternized with each other. But how changed !
Their ancestors were the conq \lering R omans j the
I talians bend th e knee to an 11 ustrinn tyrant who
bears the name of Coosar without any of his virtues ;
the Daco-R omans are the ready slaves of any despot
wh o may wi sh to extend over them the iron arm of his
power. The l atter dream of P:m-Romanism, or a
union of all th e R oumanian race, but their nationality,
their soul, their virtues, have been crushed out.
That t1le Daco-R omans are proud of their origin
may be learned from the following verse from a Molda-
v-ian poet :-

" Ncmul t'en Holdavi de unde dera<l';\


Din t'era h aJii tot omul f!6 cred':\.
Flacil nntciu, apoi Troian aUl!dus pe aioo
Pre Btremos'i qucstor t'en de nemu ell fence
Rcs:i.dit au t'~rilor botarele toto
P re IlCmnc que stall in v{'('i a 1'0 ved~ pole,
'CUE DACO-ROMANS. 161
lei co fit'a. questt'li nem, t'ern romanesca
Imphlt a.u Ardialu1 $'i Moldovenesca.,
Semnelo stall de Be vid de densul ileuto
Tuml Severinului $0 cusLa'n v!'(lm; multc."*

The most cultivated of the Daeo-Romans are to be


found in Wallachia and Moldavia. The following is all
account of the Wallachs in Transylvania and Lower
Hungary, in the description of which I have employed
some of the quaint forms of expressions used by an old
Gcnnan author.
Their manner of living is extremely rough and
savage; they are destitute of religion, arts, and sciences.
From their infancy the children arc washed every day
in warm water, and then swathed in coarse linen or
woollen cloth. The seasons and the weather make
herein no difference. F rom t.he fifth to the twelfth or
fourteenth ye:lr of their age they arc left to attend the
herds and flocks, the girls being taught in tlle meantime
washillg, baking, spinning, needle-work, and wcaving.
The dress of Ow boys and girls is tl w same.
The houses of the Wallachs llsually consist of but
one small room, in which old 3.l1d young, men and

" "The Molda.vian raco--wl::enco procoode d it? }'r<>m Italy, as overy


one belie,·cs. Fl:lccus fil'llt, and then Trajan, brought thither Ihe anccstol'll
of tho happy inhabitant!! of this land. They fixed its limits, which are still
to 00 fS('en in the vestiges that remain. Trnjnll, from this stock, filled the
Roumanian land, Ardalla and Moldavia. Tho prool"a or this nrc every-
where. Long hag stood the Tower of Severinllll."
162 ROUMANIA.

women arc indiscriminately mixed: pigs and fowls also


frequently come in for their share of the accommoda-
tion. Before the door is generally a semi-fluid puddle,
where the swine and children indulge ill their siesta.
The house is constructed of the unhewn branches of
trees, lined inside with mud, and covered with a hig h
straw roof h eld in its place by branches of trees bung
across it. The llght is usually admitted through a piece
of bladder.
Their mode of dress is various. The men wear white
trousers of coarse cloth, very large, and descending to
the ankles. In summer these are made of linen instead
of woollen; over this is worn a coarse shirt, with wide
open sleeves, roaching partly over the tbiglls, and hang·
ing outside of the breoches j hence, by way of contempt,
the Hungarians call the WalJaehs "people who let
their shirts hang out." A leather girdle is worn around
the waist, in which they carry a knife, flint, steel, and a
tobacco pipe. TIley wrap ri1o<YS round the fe et, and
bind oyer them sandals of raw leather, with coarse
thongs.
The fru;hioll varies in almost every yillage, and 1S
even more tyrannical than in Paris. 'When the peasant
goes to p urch ru;e an article of dress, she mentions the
name of her village to the merchant., who then produces
the article fashionable in fhat locality.
The males never cover the head while in mourning,
let the weather be what it may. The common people
TIlE DAOQ-&OYAN"S. 163
suffer the beard to grow after the~.-.e of forty, when
they arc ealJed grandJatlum; although the Wallaehian,
marrying at tbeage offifteen, is frequently a grandfather
at the age of thirty.
The girls go bareheaded; their ornaments consist
of earrings of brass, colored glass b eads, and pieces of
money fastened to a string, and tied round the head or
neck. The la.tter gi \'J a ringing noise, so that the well
dressed Wallaehian girl" makes a fin e music wherever
she goes," and may very often be heard sooner than
seeD. She carries h er entire dower upon her person.
In order to appear more beautiful, the women paint
their cheeks red, and color their eyebrows black.
They wear a long chemise, reaching down almost to
the ankles. From a small girdle are suspended two
aprons, one before and the other behind. The embroi-
dery upon these fringed and many-colored gannents is
esteemed an important part of ornamental attire. The
women also wear, under the chemise, in winter, wide
drawers of coarse woollen cloth, and like the males, put
on the juba, or sheep-skin cloak, with the wool inside.
The fron t of the chemise is always open, and serves as
a receptacle for cabbages, meat, and perhaps a dozen
other articles, thus forming, altogether, a most asto-
nishing protuberance. Nothing can be more ridiculous
than the appearance of a 'Vallachian woman returning
from the market with her bosom bulged out with the
purchases of the day.
164 M UliANIA.

No 'Woman is seen going abollt without some work
in hand, or is ever by any chance idle. The peasant's
wife goes to market with 3. basket of goods balanced on
her head, an infant on her back, and twirling her distaff
at the same time, as dexterously as one of the princesses
of Homer. She spins, weaves, and makes the dresses
of her family, helps her lazy husband cut the com. in har-
vest time, and trudges along in the mud while he rides
on horseback. If you ask a peasant for what he wants
a wife, he usually answers, " To comb me, and keep me
clean." Yet, so far as cleanliness goes, she is, in Tran -·
sylvania, a bad housewife. Neither docs her labor
produce so much as might be imagined. Among the
German settlers it is a proverb ,; to be as busy as n
' Vallach woman, and do as little ."
The men arc indolent and cowardly, except when it
comes to smuggling, plundering, horse-stealing, or at-
tacking a bear. A. long succession of ill-treatment has
made them timid and susp icious. An old eountess i n
Transyl vania regretted to P aget that " times were sadly
changed; peasants were no longer so respectful as they
used to be;" she could remember walking to church on
the bacb of the peasants, who k nelt down in the mud
to allow her to pass oyer them without soiling llCr shoes.
From sh eer indolence they bask in the sun in summer
and starve iu winter.
The Wallachs do not attend m uch to the culti vation
of grain, bu t devote themselves especially to the breed-
TilE DACO-ROMAXS. 165

ing and tending of cattle, wintering their herds in


Moldavia and 'Yallachia at a trifling expense, and con-
ducting them home again ill the spring. K ukurutz, or
maize, from whieh is prepared a thick porridge, cal led
JIamal}lw., resembling the polenta of the Italians, is
chiefly cultivated by them.
I lUlve good reason to believe that the native male
peasants of Wallachia nrc the laziest people ill the
world. :for the acres which they cultivate they have
to render aunually twenty-eight days' labor to the Boy-
ard proprietor, and l)ay a moderate tax to the govern-
ment. In llddition to this, a month's labor per year
will support their fam ilies in the humble style in which
they li,'e. The chief concern of tJlC men seems to be
_ how they may best squander away their time.
In the beginning of May, the proper month for
planting, they devote an entire week to unmitigated
idleness, making it almost an object of worship, under
the snpposition that their fruits will thereby be pro-
tected f!"Om the late frosts. The laggard husbands
frighten their industrious wives into greater diligencc,
by pretending that a fa iry visits evcry house early 011
the morning of H oly Thursday, and will punish them
with barrenn ess, or some other dreadful affliction, if
all be not found in order. Thcy impose, indeed, upon
these patient and tender creatures the hardsllips often
visited upon themselves by their Boyard masters.
'TIle food of the W allachian peasants is as simple as
166 ROt:YAN IA.

their dress. Meal cakes arc baked in the ashes, and


they also use milk, cheese, fnt, garlic, and beans. But
little animal food is eaten, on nccount of the fasts which
nre rigorously obsen'cd, although every other law be
broken. Meat, eggs, and milk are then forbidden, and
their scanty food is prepared with salt and water j
great debility is caused thereby, and sometimes even
death.
At their feasts the Wallachs drink all the wino and
brandy they ean get. Raki then flows in rivu1ets, and
the peasant not \Infrequently runs in debt to treat bis
friends with II. sheep roasted whole. If the Wallach is so
fortunate as to find a pipe or violin, in addition to a full
pitcher, he seldom ceases from revelry until he is quite
drunk, and is carried home senseless. These feasts arc -
kept up like Irish wakes.
In cert.'li n parts of Transylvania the WaI1aehs have
n. curious custom. A party of idlo young fcll ow8 sell
themselves, as they say, to the devil, for a tenn of
three, five, or seven years-the number must he odd,
or the devil will not hold to the bnrgain--cngaging to
dance the whole of that time, except when they sleep:
in consideration of which tbey expect their inremru
purchaser will supply them with food and wine libe-
rally, and r ender them irresisliblc among the rustic
belles. Accordingly, dressed in their gayest attire,
tJlese mcrry vagabonds start out from their native vil·
lage, and literally dance through the country. Every-
TilE DACo-RO~UNS. 161

wbere they arc received with open anus; the men glad
of an excuse for jollity, the women anxiolls, perhaps, to
prove their power, all unite to feed and fete the "deviPs
dancers;" so tLat it is scarcely wonderful that there
should be willing slaves to so merry a servitude. When
their time is up they return home, and become quiet
peasants for the rest of their liyes. *
'TIle religious rites and ceremonies of the Transylya~
uian Wallaehs favor P aganism and Judaism, rather
than the religion which they profess. F or example,
no woman will attempt to kill an animal, whatever it
may be. They make no scruple of employing the most
shocking oaths on every trifling occasion, and carefnlly
ayoid going into Catholic churches, but jf there by
accident, purify themselves afterwards by ablutions.
To be sprinkled in a Catholic church, or to undergo
any ceremonies with con~crated water, is a matter of
the greatest h orror to t hem, for t he reason that the
water is sprinkled about with an instrument made of
pork-bristles. This, in their own opinion, renders them
highly impure. The dresses contaminated by such an
accident cannot be worn again without being washed.
Their papa8 (Greek priests) distribute the consecrated
water by means of a brancb, or a llosegay of hyssop,
as is directed in the P salm. Stealing and adultery are
looked upon as trifling crimes. Their papas cannot
grant absolution for murder, that being left to God
... PageL
168 ROtlJA:>IA.

alone j but murders, us well as robberies, arc very


common. The 'Vallachs regard their priests with
supeNtitious reverence, and attach still higher import-
ance to the sacraments of the Church. An attempt
was made not many years ago, to catholicize the Greek
Church in Transylvania. Conformists were allowed to
participate in the goverlUuent of the country. Many
of the priests apostatized, for solid reasons, and some
brought over their flocks with t hem. I n other cases,
however, the people refused to change their religion.
In certain villages, where Greek priests were lIot al-
lowed to officiate, no Christian ceremony or sacrament
was performed for thirty years. Men were born, mar-
ried, and died ull christcncd, unblessed, and unshrivcn.
When the 'Vallachs engage themselves in an in-
dissolnble fdend sh ip in life a1l.d death, they put a cross
in the vessel, or the cup from which they eat or drink,
swearing thereby e\'erlasting fidel ity. This ceremony is
neyer to be slighted. It is genernlly a preliminary rite
to robberies. The same cm·emony is J·csorted to as the
most efficaciolls bond j for exam pIc, if robbers release
a man by whom they fear being apprehended J they con-
demn him to silence with au outh by the cross, the
salt, and the bread, which they call yiurar pe cruce, ~
pite,pefare.
Their funerals are singular. 1\"'ith dismal shrieks
the corpse is brought to the tomb, ill which it is sunk
down as soon as the papa has fini::.hcd the ritnal.
TilE DACI)-ROlfANS. 109

At this moment the (riends antI relo.ti yes of the deceased


raise horrid c ries j they remind the dead of his friends,
parents, eattie, bouse, and household, and ask for what
reason he left them. As no answer ensues, the grave
is filled up, and a wooden cross with a large stone
placed at the head, so that the deceased may not become
a vampyre, or strolling, Iloctumal bloodsucker. ,Vine
is thrown upon the grave, and frankincense bunted
around it, to drive away witches and evil spirits. This
done, they go home, bake bread of whcat flo nr, which
they eat to the expiation of'the deceased, plentifully
drinking to be the more comforted themselves. The
solemn shrieks, libations of wine, and fum igations about
the tomb, continue during some days, nay, even for
weeks. Thefullcral of a bridegroom is still morc solemn.
A pole several fathoms long is. raised over his tomb, and
the bride hangs Oil it a garland, aquill, and a white hand-
kerchief. The ,Vallachs of Transylvania plant a plum-
tree at the head, and another at the foot of every grave,
from the fruit of which they make their brandy: a very
liklral illustration, says Paget, "of seeking consolation
from the tomb."
The W allachs" are ignorant beyond comparison.
Ask an old man his age, and he will" answer: "At the
conclusion of the peace," or when that prince died, or
that metropolitan was elected, "I attended the swiM,"
or the sheep, or went into the field, married, and 80
on; and then you may compute his age.
S
170

Any phenomenon, or effect of unknown tauee&, is


regarded by them as a miracle. They look up.:m a solar
eclipse as a fray between the infernal dragon and the
sun: for that reason, during the eclipse, a great iiring
is heard throughout tlle land, to frighten away the
dragon which otherwise might devonr the SOD, and
plunge the world into eternal darkness. A Wallach
will never cut a spit of beech wood whereon to roaet
bis meat.. 'TIle reason is this: in the spring the beech
yieds a red sup, and according to the profound obser-
vations of the Wallacbs, the tree weeps these bloody
tears because the Turkish bloodhonnds used to rout
Christians upon spits made of beech wood.
No capitnl punisl1ment is in greater abhorrence
among the Wallachs than that by the rope. The wheel
and pale are greatly preferable : a rope "ties the neck,
and forces the soul out downward." This they call &
most disgusting defilement ; and u their singular nicety
on this point," says an old Gcnnan writer, "is tme
psychological materialism."
The Daco-Romaos are remarkably 6uperatitione.
They believe in fairies, monsters, both horrid and
picturesque, strolling vampires, soreeries, and the
blighting charms of the evil eyc. A Wallach hardly
dares go out after sundown on Tuesday or Friday for
fear of being whisked away by witchcs in the shape ot
vindictive old women, who aro perfcctly harmlea.
during the daytime. Woe to the Daco-Roman who
i
2
:
j
,•


TIU: DACO-ROYA~ S. 171
has nny day neglected to set nside food lUld drink for
the hideous vampyres which suck out men's blood by
night, or for the malevolent spirits dwelling among
nlins in solitary places, and waging implacable warfare
upon the human race. No neighborhood is so dreadful
as theirs.
Unless t.he peasant has worn for three weeks a
talismanic paper dipped in consecrated oil by his
priest, folded in a mysterious manner, and tied to his
forehead by seven hairs, he is momentarily in fear of
being gulped down by a dragon of such cnormous
proportions that one of his jaws touches the heavens
while the other rests upon the earth. These fabulous
monsters are for ever intercepting adventurous tra-
vellers and ballad-sung heroes, and getting themsel ves
cut into a thousand pieces, but the dismembered parts
are so endowed with vitality tbat they speedily grow
together, if the sun do but happen to shine upon
them.
Has the Wallach tasted a drop of milk during
Lent, or forgotten to make the sign of the cross from
right to left in the presence of his priest 1 Until the
sin is absolved he is in constant apprehension of being
picked up by winged monsters of supernatural size,
that live in impenetrable foresta, where they conceal
their treasures, as well as the princesses of royal blood
whom they have earned away.
Usually in affairs of the heart
179
"Tbe villago IDaid
~k. tho dark giJllly'lI I'carlul aid."

By night, when only the peeping stars can behold her


naked loveliness, sbe steals, timidly and blushingly, to
tlle neighboring stream or fountain, tllinking to &cc
therein her future husband. Their little love ditties,
full of tenderness and rosy thoughts of matrimony,
remind one of the evening prayer of the German pea-
sant girl :-

"Sehemme~ reb trilt dicb,


SL Artdre:18 Ieb bitt dich,
Gieb mir in dem T1t.UI11 cin
W elcher wird. mein ),[wn acin."

But the stork, the swallow, and even the eerpent


take shelter under the hospitable roof or the J>aoo..
Roman. lie TCgards the little ficld-enake with a
degree of respect little short of idolatry, sees in it •
protecting household gud, welcomes it, permita it to
neetle on hie warm hearth in winter, and feeds tho
sacred guest with milk every morning and evening.
M. Michelet relatee that baving caned at the hnt of •
Wallacb pea&ant in Transylvania, he found the wife in
tears. Sbe bad just lost her little boy three years of
age. "We had noticed," said she to the traveller,
" that every day our child ate DO food at breakfast, aDd
shortly after absented himself for a full hoar. One
TilE DACo-ROlI.ANS. 173
da.y I followed him into the thicket, and saw an im-
mense serpent glide up and take from the child's hand
a piece of brcaawhich he had brought. The following
day my hneband went with me. Frightened at the
sight of this undomesticated and perhaps noxious ser-
pent, he killed it with a blow of his axe. The child
came a few moments afterwards and found bis friend
dead. In despair he returned home, weeping and
crying,pouiul (my dear little bird). Nothing would
consolc him, and after five days' wceping he died,
crying to thelast,poui'U,pcuiul"
The Daco-Roman,like his Italian ancestors, believes
that the destiny of every man is mysteriously united
with a star which, in the far-off heavens, reflects -
the plans and accidents of his life. Thus when a
misfortune befalls him his star becomes darkened;
when he dies it disappears in space. When the sky is
red, he imagines that there is war in IlC8.ven, and in the
fiery planets reads dire catastrophes to earth. The
poor gods and goddesses of lleathen Rome, when chased
out of Italy, seem to have taken a last refuge among
the Daco-Romans, more, however, in the character of
strolling theatrical performers than tile divinities of
high Olympus. The infant literature of the COUll try
chants their praises, and the peasant girl of Dileo-
Roumania never tills her vase-like pitcher without first
breathing upon the water and -pouring some of the
fluid upon tIle ground as a libation to tbe nymph of
IT{ BOU){A1UA.

the fountain. I hs"e already a11uded to the custom of


putting a coin in the hand or the mouth of the deceased
for Cbaron, tl10 boabnan of tho Styx.
In the opinion of the Wallach precious Btones are
made of the saliva of serpents, and the poor pe88nt,
mush fed and clothed in sheepskins, is ever dreaming
of finding some viper's den or noxious bird's neat filled
with incalcu 1able riches. The eating of an infant's
heart, he bc.lic\'cs, will render his body bullet-proof,
and this horl"'ible repast is not UllfrequcntJy prepared.
One day in a "iIlage near Bukarcst, I fell in with
a curious burial procession, comp06Cd of Wallach pea-
sants. The nlde bier was supported by half-a-dozen
villagers. The face of the deceased, a young man,
was exposed to the burning sun, as is the custom in the
East, in order to detect any indications of human life-
a usage that originated in times of the plague. It w.
an excessively hot day, and a swann of black, ugly
llies hovered around the pale face of the corpse, and
were doing their busy work wllile it was borne along.
Before the bier walked a person with a basket of un-
leavened cakes, to be eaten in honor of the manu of
the "dead. He also carried a little May-pole, orna.-
mented with tresses, like those Witll which the peaaeot
bride in Wallacllia decks herself on her marriage day.
Following the bier were a couple of the village priests,
the parents, and friends, all carrying littJe !orehea, and
then a number of wailing women, haggant and wan,
THE DAOO-KOMAN8. 175
hired for the occasion. The latter, like the p1YJ!ji<xB in
ancient Roman funerals, tore their hair and shrieked as
if the peace of the dead bad depe nded upon their efforts.
I followed the procession, which balted several
time8 before reaching the village church. The bier-
carriers rested their burden upon the ground. The
Deareat relatives and the wailing women crowded rouud
the coffin, addressed the tenderest expressions to Ole
dead, embraced it, and begged forgiveness for al1 the
little vexations they had caused it during lifo, tes-
tifying their sorrow at the same time by mOllmful
chants of praise and regrets, by groans, and rending
their garments in a frightfu l manner. These singular
manifestations disturbed the beautiful thoughts which
we are accustomed to associate with the last offices to
the departed and the peaceful rest of thc grave.
On leaving the church the corpse was carried to a
shallow grave in the courtyard, called the " Garden of
the Dead." After the priests had recited the last
prayer, the dead and the living were sprinkled witli
consecrated water. The following beautiful versos were
then chanted in a doleful mallner :-" Come, brethren,
let us give the last embrace to the deceased, thanldng
God. What woo, what wailing in the present change!
He is consigned to the grave j his abode is with the
dead. Now are we separated. Now all tlle evil and
vain fl!Stiv ity of life arc dissolved. The clay hath be
come blm; the vessel is broken, speechless, dead.
176 ROUMANU •

Truly, like a flower, and as vapor, and as moming
dew, is our life. Come, then, let us look down nB1'-
rowly into tlle grave. 'Where is the comeliness of the
body, and where is youth i Where are the eyes and
the beauty of the flesh 1 All his comelinese is cast
away,-dissolvcd in the grave-food for wonns-in
darkness, covered with earth." 'TIle coffin was lowered
into the grave, and a rude wooden cross left to mark
the resting-place . of the WaUachian yontll. Aside
from the few symbols of Christianity, I could have
believed myself at the burial of a man in tIle time of
ancient Rome_
Whcn a W allach is about to draw his last breatIl,
the weeping attendants put a ligbted candle in his hand,
and a priest recites prayers in a voice more or lesslond
and agonizing, according to the number of piastres he
expects for his services. Soon after death the eorpse is
washed, shaved, shrouded for the tomb as expensively
as the family can afford, the foot turned towards the
door, and frequenHy a. piece of money slipped into tile
hand or mouth to pay for the passage of the dead into
the other world. In the Boyard families much dis-
play is made at funerals, and many of tho superstitious
observances to which I have alluded dispensed with.
The Wallachs, like the ancient Romans, piously
revere the mane8, or shades of the departed. This, lUI
among the 'l.'url.:s, is an abundant sou rce of alms. On
the anniversary of the deceased, the family, if able, ghrc
Tim DACO-ROMANS. 177

mO'ney and clO'thing to' the poor, tO'gether with unlea-


vened eakes made O'f meal, sugar, hO'ney, nuts, and
cheese. V cssels filled with water, and sometimes pro"i-
siO'na,areplaced alO'ng the road fO'r the usoO'fthe traveller.
Like the Turks, the Wallaehs have their lucky and
unlucky days. Every day has, in fact, its peculiar
wO'rk which shO'uld he done upon nO' O'ther. The Wal-
1ach wO'men wash O'n Wednesday and spin O'n Saturday.
Tuesday is the mO'st unlucky O'f aU. Upon that day the
wO'men scarcely wash and cO'mb - themselves : nO' jO'ur-
ooy is then begun 0'1' any wO'rk O'f impO'rtance under·
taken.
During certain days O'f the year they abstain from
cutting anything with shears, as at the Roman festival
O'f the Lupcrcalia, in O'rder that the wolves may nO't in-
jure their shoop. Tailors, I believe, exempt themselves
from this O'bservance. NO' peasant wO'man will take 8
noodle in her fingers O'n Tuesday, tor fear that the
Savionr WO'uld feel every stitch, and thus be crucified
anew. They imagine that the plague may be averted
by burning a shirt which has been spun, wO'ven, aud
made up in less than twenty-fO'ur hO'urs. When it begins
to' thunder and lighten, the superstitiO'us 'VaUaeh makes
the sign O'f the cross and falls upon the ground.
Idiots are everywhere welcO'me. During" Fool's
week " lunatics are permitted to run through the streets
somewhat like the Thugs O'f India, beating whO'msoever
they may meet, and dO'ing no little harm besides.
8*
178 ROUYANfA.

The sports and the dances of the Wallachs bear a


striking rcsemblance to those of the Roman pensantry
in the time of Trajan. The Dse<rRomans bave two
national dances, the IuJra and the CQVuaal"i. The latter,
according to Gerando, is probably the ancient dance of
the Salii, who had a temple upon the Quirinal hill of
Rome, and performed on the ides of April, under the
direction of a leader, chanting, at the same time, urun-
telligiblerhapsodics. TheWaUach dancers, when execut-
ing tIle colU8ari, wear leather straps BCl'OS8 the shoulders
ornamented with copper buttons,and brandish longcluba
in their hands, while vaulting and leaping with the
Bacehie frenzy of whirling dervishes.
The lwra recalled to my mind the Roman chorus
precisely as we soo it figured ~)ll ancient bas-relietS.
The dancers, both men and women, taking hold of each
other's hands, formed a large circle, in the centre of
which were the w,utari, or gipsy musicians. One of
the latter sang while the ring wbirled round and round
with anus and feet moving in hannony, the performers
now advancing and then retreating, so as to diminish or

enlarge the circle.
There was something in these slow and monotonouB
evolutions, as well as in the mournful chants of the
w,utari, in perfect keeping with tile melancholy geniu8
of the DacG-Romans. Besides the Iwra and the colu.-
8m, I saw the dance of the girdle. The couples placed
the left band llpl'ln eAch other's girdles, and reeled the
Tim D.ACO-IW)lANS. 179
right on the shoulder. Though exceedingly slow at
first, their movements soon became astonishingly
rapid.
Bear in mind, 0 reader, that I am describing the
holiday sports •
of Daeo-Roman peasants, and not those
of the Europeanized dwellers in Bukarest, who, forget-
ting their nationality, have adopted both the pleasures
and manners of the West-who perform the graceful
minuet, tread the labyrinth of the French quadrille,
and wind the whirling mazes of the mazoUl;ka.
The Daeo-Romans celebrate a great number of fes-
tivals. That in honor of Flora occurs the first Sunday
in May.
Beautiful is the harvest festival of the Wallachs.
"Dragaika" tJ}ey can the fair one whom tJle village dam-
sels select from their midst, and crown with a wreath of
leaves and heads of grain. Then under tIle lead of
tlleir Ceres, they go singing through the fields and vil-
lages, like joyous birds, delighting the eyes and hearts
of all who look upon them. The wreath of tile Dra·
gaika is much sought for by the maidens, although the
bnrden of her song is that she will not be married in
three years.
In summer, when the fields arc scorched with
drought, the peasantB dress a little girl under ten years
of age in a garment of leaves. All the other chil-:lren
?f the same age follow her through the village, dancing
and singing- ,
180 ROUMANIA •

.. Papulunga I
Go up to Heaven,
Open its windows
And let the rain de wn,
Tilat the corn and the wheat
lIay grow well and ripeo."

The religious festivities arc equally interesting. On


Christmas-day is celebrated a masquerade, the object
of which is to represent the birth of our Saviour. A
boy leads tJ;1e procession, bearing for a banner a paper
star of immense size and gaudily painted. Then fol-
low the Magi in Eastern costume, and an escort of R0-
man soldiers \vith lances in the right hand. Each ono
is supplied with 3 lantern. They also represent the
manger in which the Saviour is supposed to be born at
midnight. The procession goes from door to door
reciting pious anthems called Balinda.
The Now Year is opened in Bukarost with a great
baptismal ceremony. The Dumbovitza is blesaed by
the Metropo1itan, just as he blesses the horses of the
Prince when they are turn(ld out to pashlre in the
beginning of May. Or, to obviate the difficulty which
arises from the constant flow of the river, a priellt is
sent to bless it at or ncar the source. Infanta of tender
age are immersed in the icy stream, and bottles of the
sacred water kept for many days.
The Easter festival is the most brilliant during the

year, and lasts cight days. Great preparations are
'filE DACO-ROMANS. 181

made in tile towns and villag<}S. The houses are newly


garnished: every one parades his best gannents, visits
are exchanged, and all 11earts leap with j oy. In the
street they salute eaeh other with the sacramental
phrase a iuviat K ri&tu, Kri&tu.a invidt! (Christ hath
risen, Christ hath indeed risen.)
CHAPTER vill

TOE GREEK ClIURClL

"Wretchedest age since the world began,


That cannot even bury a man."

TIlE Daco-Romans follow the Greek rite and the doc-


trines of the Council of Nice, which, it is asserted,
assure them the Catholicity of time, while the Church
of Rome can only boast of the Catholicity of places.
Like all Orthodox Greek Christians, they deny that the
Church of Rome is tile true Catholic Church, and on
Holy Thursday cxc~mmunicate the Pope and Latin
prelates, praying that all who offer up unleavened
bread may be covered with confusion.
The Greeks, though manifesting far less veneration
for the Euc11nrist than the Latins, have adopted the
seven sacraments, commune according to the rules of
St.. Basil and Chrysostom, observe four great fasts, and
abstain from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays. They
maintain that the H oly Ghost proceeds from the Father
alone, and believe not in the immediate admission of the
sainta and martyrs to the beatific vision. The Greeks
baptize by immersion, use leavened bread, and con·
tend for the bodily presence.
TilE G1tEEK CHURCH. 183

'rhe Orthodox Greek Church hns not, like the


church of Rome, made herself" drunk with the blood
of mart.yrs." The Greeks profess a certain degree of
toleration, but it is by no means certain that they
would not have displayed the samc sanguinary spirit
as the Latins, had similar inducements to persecution
been presented.
They do not extend the name of Christians to any
sect out of the pale of their own church. Neither in
Russia nor in any of the l)royinces of European Turkey
where the influence of the Czar hns made itself felt,
are Catholics or Protestants permitted to win, or to at;..
tempt to win, souls frOIll the orthodox faith. Such is
the bigotry of this remarkable church, and the cha-
racter of its self-assumed head at St. Petersburgh, that
a Chinese wall is built arolUld the institution to protect
it from all foreign influence, as if it were too perfect to
learn anything from, too sacred to come into contact
with, the rest of the Christian world. Neither light
nor knowledge nor example is admitted from other
sources,
Rigid Rnd uncl.l anging in character, the Greek
church is the instrument of tyranny alike in Constanti-
nople, St. Petersburgh, and Belgrade. TIIO Czar of
Russia, the Patriarch of Starn boul, and the potty
princes who subsist upon their bounty, in making the
faith tJw toolot' ambition and avarice,are onlydoing on a
grand scale what is common to every bishop and priest.
IS{
The enmity between the rival Christian secta is bit-
ter and abiding. Not many years ago, the SOD of •
wealthy Greek of Constantinople became a convert to
Islamism. l1lC papa, or Greek priest, was called. in to
console the berC8\'OO father. "You are indeed aftlie"
cd," said he, "but let us be thankful that the case ie by
no means so bad as it might have been. Your 80D hu
only become a Mussulman; think what would have
been your grief had he been converted into a hateful
Catholic I"
Though practising auricular confession, the Greek.
dellY that the rite is a divine precept, regarding it
merely as an injunction of the church. They ill8iet
that it is lawfu l to deceive an eDomy, also that it is no
sin to injure and oppress bim. The majority are of the
opinion that to be saved it is not necessary to make
restitution of goods stolen or fraudulently obtained.
Many of the Eastern Clu'istians, especiaJly thoec
who speak the language of Plato, leave the Eightll
Commandment entirely out of tbeir Creed, and prac-
tise largely upon the conjugation and declension of the
Greek w rb kltpteiq in all of its moods and tenses.
They entertain an extreme horror of excommunica-
tion, which, with them, " excludes tbe guilty one from
the pale of the church, from the communion of the
Trinity, the saints, aud the three hundred and eighteen
Fathers befme the fOllrth Council of Nice, consigns him
I)ver to the Devil and the traitor Judas, and, unlCBl! he
TUE ORXEK CII URCH. 185

humbly repents, condemns his body to remain after


death as hard as stone."
As & church, the Greek Christians make no claim
to infallibility or temporal sovereignty. Even in Rus-
sia, where the orthodox church has attained a colossal
development, where the oracles of an ancient faitb have
lent wings for the &81»' of ambition, and absolutism has
impiollilly engrafted upon itself tile principle of theo-
cracy, even there the aureola of the church pales
in the effulgent blaze of temporal authority. 'The
Holy Synod, once ancient and independent, is now
nnder the spiritual direction of a commander of the
cavalry.
Politically speaking, the influence of the Latin
chureh has heen disorganizing, while that of the east·
ern church has been conservative. It was tile latter
which held together the me~a dUjecta of tho Russian
empire during the Tartar imlption , and it was through
the active co-operation of the Greek Christians of the
Ottoman empire that the Czar Nicholas hoped to reo
place the cross on St. Sophia.
The organization of the Greek church varies but
slightly in different parts of Eastern Enropc. I ts clergy
nre divided into regular and secular. The former arc
all monks, and can alone be ad"ancoo to the first dig-
nities of the church. The lower orders of the regular
clergy, i.e. below the metropolitans, arcbbishops, and
hishops, arc termed, in Russia, the black clergy. The
186 ROUMANIA.

bishops and those above them in rwarc regarded as


smoking holocausts upon the altar of the church. They
must practise celibacy, and abstain from the ileah of
animals, but the black clergy, so called from the color
of their caps aud robes, arc permitted to marry before
entering the order, yet not afterwards. They are ex-
empt from ta:x:cs, conscription, and corporeal cbas-
tisement,-the last mentioned exemption being alS<l
extended. to their wives.
The secular priests, or white clergy, are far more
numerous than the above, aud perform the greater part
of the ecclesiastical fillctions of the Church. Maniage
is an indispensable prc·requisite for every candidate
for ordination into this class, but if, being a priest, he
loses his wife, his sacerdotal powers expire at once, and
can only be revived by marrying again. This is the
case in certain parts of Rl!ssia. In the Danubian Prin-
cipalities the priest can be thc husband of but one wife,
upon die preservation of whose life his prosperity in a
great measure depends.
Literally, however, the Greek priest marries three
times; when he is admitted as a deacon, when ordained
to the priestly office, and lastly, when he take" an earth1y
uride.
Thus, in the Orthodox Church, marriage forms the
basis of the priestly order, and the' benefices of the
sacred ministry arc in fact a premium awarded to the
husband whose conjugal BoHcitudc sllccecds best in pro-

TIlE GREEK CIIURCII. 187


longing the days of his wife. Hence also the Russian
proverb, "As bappy 88 a priest's wife."
The secular priests, having no settled and competent
livings, are obliged to suheist by simoniacal practices, to
dispense with religion rather than to dispense its hopes
and consolations. They arc in fact driven to sell tllO
divine mysteries intrusted to their charge. No onc
can procure absolution, be admitted to confession, have
his children baptized or his relatives b uried, get mar·
ried or divorced, or bave an enemy excommunicated,
without paying the priest in advance j and the price put
OD hie spiritual commodities depends upon the ability
and devotion of the parishioner.
A situation so deplorable reacts fatally upon tlle
• morals of the orthodox pricstJlOod. As the~r hou8Cs
fumish but a scanty subsistence, they seek every occa·
sion to sit at the tables of others, where they are too apt
to abandon themselves without restraint to the grntifi-
cationa of an insatiable appetite and inextinguishablc
thirst. "Am I a pricst, that I should eat and drink
twice as much as another pcrson i" is a Christian ' pro-
verb in the East. Intemperancc leads to all vices.
According to the Report of the IIolySynod of Russia,
during the year 1836, 208 ecclesiastics were degraded
for infamous crimes, and 1,995 fol"' minor offences. In
that year the total Russian clergy numbered 102,456
individuals, giving two out of every hundred condemned
by the tribunaJ.e. In the year 1839 the proportion of

188 ROUllA... rlA..

priCita condemned was one to twenty, and taking three


years together we find that one.mxth of the RU88ian
clergy were disgraced for crimes and misdemeanors.
Yet the Russian Church styles herself Orthodox, and
Romanoff and serf boast of the spiritual mission of Holy
Russia. Nor in view of these statistics can we wonder
at the start.ling remark of St. Ohrysostom when speak-
ing of ,the Greek Clergy, "I do not think there are
many priests who will be saved, but that the greatel'
part of them will perish."
The superior clergy, forming tbe €lite of the Church,
are Dot entirely without virtue and intelligence, but
they are not brought into immediate contact with the
people, and consequently exercise bnt little inlluencc

over thein.
The secular clergy, owing to their ignorance and
degraded position, are scarcely respected e\'"en during
the performance of the sacred offices, while at other
times they are treated with a familiarity bordering on
contempt. There are proverbs and particular sarcasms
relative to the priesthood not surpaaeod in point by
anything in Greek epigram or French madrigal.
Throughout the East the secular clergy can lcarcely be
distinguished from the peasantry, "nd are as ignorant
88 the people over whom they have charge. Wheo
wandering among the ruins of the temple of Oerea a.t
Eleusis, I rernem bor to have seen a Greek prieat curry-
ing his horse, while his savage wife with ber dangbten,
TilE GREEK CHURCH. 189

in the Grotto of the Nymphs hard by, looked like a harpy


surrounded by furies.
The monks are of the order of St. Basil. The
monasteries, some of which are free and others conse-
crated to the sees of Alexandria,Antioch,and Jerusalem,
possess more tban one third of the landed estate in
the Principalities. Those dependent upon Mt. Atl~os are
especially wealthy. The old monastery of Niamzo form.
erly contributed to the intellectual advancemcnt of the
country, but is at present nothing more than a llospital.
In Wallachia there is a church to cvcry six hundred
inhabitants, and, including the families of the priests,
e,"ery forty~ixth person belongs to the clerical profes-
sion.
There are two seminaries in \Vallachia and one in
Moldavia for their education, but tbe degree of cultiva·
tion which the students receive ca.llllot be compared
with that imparted in a district ~bool of New York.
Almost anyone can become a Grook priest in Wallaehia
by paying $75, the fee for initiation into the clerical
order. The applicant for orders is not expected to be
able- to write. Ability to read the Liturgy of the
Orthodox Church is ostensibly required, but even this
accomplishment is often wanting; in which case the
priest repeats the service from memory, as Homer
repeated his songs. In thc towns and cities, the secular
clergy, though ignorant and depraved, often have a
respectable appearance.
190 ROUlIaNJA.

It is only in the -Wallachian villages, of wh06e


wretchedness no one can obtain an idea. withont aetnal
inspection, that the genuine type of the charaeter can
be seen. Living upon a patch of land given by the
Boyard who owns the village, and distingnishable from
the meanest peasant only by his long beard, tchako,
and b~ts, he 'Works and goes to market just like the
ignorant parishioners whose sins, past, present, and fu-
turo, he is empowered to absolve. The piastres derived
from the sale of the sacraments and holy water are of
but little benefit to his family, for most of them muet
be given over to the bishop as an annual present for
the privilege of retaining bis situation. What wonder,
then, that he should grant an i ndulgence for a few
paras, and heartily forgive the person who shares with
him a stolen sheep or sack of corn.
The almost innumerable holidays of the Greek
Church-during which the peasant is strictly for-
bidden to labor for his worldly profit, "the priest
adroitly avails himself of, by assnring him that he may
labor in God's service, which being literally inter-
preted, means his priest's,-and so the lazy and soper-
stitious Wallach, who will scarcely move a limb for his
own support, willingly wastes the sweat of his brow
in tilling the papa's glebc on fast days, and thus earns
his soul's salvation."
To make the sign of the eross from right to left
when about to pray or when it thunders, to repeat the
Tlt~~ O REKK CIIURCII. 191
sign of the cross when meeting a priest, passing before a
church, or attempting to drive away the devil, to make
PlO8tratiOIl8 d la Turque, being careful to avoid the
kneeling posture of Catholic heretics, to revere pap<U
and curse the Pope and the Mussulmans, to keep one
hundred and fifty holidays in the year, and fast one
hundred and ten-this is the instruction afforded by the
orthodox Greek church to the millions of her votaries.
The abstinence enjoined on fast days is so severe that
you cannot buy even a cup of milk with gold. The
Russian or the 'Vallachian peasant could not be in~
duced to sweeten his tea with 8ugar purified with the
blood of oxen. Basil, the celebrated Daco-Roman rob~
bel', having murdered an entire family and pillaged
their dwelling on Friday, was shocked to sec onc of
his band lick with his tongue a dish that had contained
butter. "Heathen!" cried he, giving the fast-breaker
a savage blow, "hast thou then no fear of God 1"
The wealthy grandee and the sly monk, however,
rest satisfied with observing merely the first and last
days of the long fasts. The poor say that the wealthy
can propitiate the will of Heaven by other means, as
acts of charity, bnt that for them remains but oue way.
The lowly thu8 add the mortification of the flesh to
their poverty, while the rich think to obtain more easily
the favor of God, and reach heaven by the golden
bridge of charity.
To burn greasy red candles to a patron saint., to
192 BQ(jXAlfU.•

adore hideous mages partially in relief, to cry ont un.


ceasingly, GOIJpodi pomelici! (Lord, have mercy upon
U8!) to have the name of God mueh upon the lipe, with
but little ofllis 10\"0 in the heart-this is worehip in the
Orthodox Greek church!
The Greek Christians maintain the perpetual vit...
gin.ity of tho Virgin. In their adoration, in fact, she
usurps the place of the Redeemer. Maryitcs would
be their most appropriate name. They also pray to the
cross as an iutcrccS8()r.
Greek churches are built unifonnly in the Byzantine
style of architecture. Many of tho old edifices, of rude
and curiOliS construction, are now crumbling into mins.
The modern structures, usually built with sums derived
from the rich Greek monasteries, appear at a distance
not unlike Methodist cbapels. The court-yards of the
old Gre<lk cllUrches are surrounded by high walls, and
still used as resting-places for the dead. Their slumber,
however, beneath so milch fi lth a.nd rubbish, is u8ually
short; for these unholy places a.rc mostly given over
to the dogs and swine, and arc lilcrnliy filled with dead
II\cn's bones and all manner of unclcanness. As one
passes by them at night in the 'Vallachian capUal, it ie
no nncommon sight to sec

"TIIG lean dogs ben('tlth t h& wall


H ol<1 o·er the dead their carni ... ~
G<>r;iDg and growl;,,!: o'er l"a1"Co'l$S .ud limbs. ~
THE GUEEK CHUnClI. 1V3

Should the deud , however, be buried too deep fo r


tJ lI~se nocturnul resUI'rectionists, their remains aloe dis-

interred after the lapse of three, or at leust seven years.


The Wallachs believe that although the soul is unable to
leaye the cor pse IUltil the latter lS entirely decayed, it
goes out of the tomb at night in order to visit the living.
The people are greatly eoneemed when the earth moves
over the grave of a relative, as it is sometimes made to
do by a cunn ing device of the priest.
The exhumation usually takes place on the death of It.
friend. If the body b e not completely decomposed, it
is a sign of excommunication. As a test, ill doubtflll ,
cases, the putrid corpse is set up against the wall. If
it fall to pieces all is Sllpposed to be well, and the re-
mains, after huving been washed with wine, and libc-
rally prayed for by the priest, arc again consigned to
the earth, to share with a fresh body the same uncertain
tenement. But if the cOlp.e remain erect, the attending •
relatives and spectators set up a cry of despair. Tho
case is too serious for a common priest. A bishop is
called, and at least a third of the property left by the
unfortunate subject must be promised for the support
of the clergy and the poor, before the friends are as-
sured of his release from excommunication, and of the
future 11appilless of his soul.
The Greek Christians believe in a many-mansioned
heaven, bnt reject from thcir creed the half-way-house
purgatory of the Latins. The superstitious ideas to
o
19< ROU~L\..l'''.\.

which I have just alluded were douhtless derived from


the nncient inhabitants of the country, to whom a dis-
ciple of Pythagoras taught the doctrine of the transmi-
gration of SOli Is.
The severe iconoclastic dogmas of tlw Greek Chris-
tians condemn the use of 8tatl1:\I'Y in their places or
worship; but by way of compensation, they cover the
walls internally and externally with daubs of red·lipped
Greek saints with broad halos around their hends, so
wretchedly executed Oint I can hardly charge the ador-
ing worshippers with idolatry, and 60 Dtunerous, that
the nlll of t he calendar must be nearly exhausted in
the celestial ornamentation of a single edifice. Il1&Ve
never seen nnything like these cloud-treading saints in
the heavens nbove, on the carth, or in the waters under
the earth. There are also rude inscriptions on the church
walls in the old Slave language.
{I I have often been much amused," says Paget,
"with these pi ctures in the Wallach chu rches; for
though too gross for description, they contain so milch
of that racy, often sarcastic wit,l)roper to Rabelais or
Chaucer, wMllght ont with a minuteness of diabolical
detail and fertility of imagination worthy of a Brenghel,
that it recalls to one's mind the labored illuminations of
our olel missals. Notwithstanding its sins against pure
taste, there is often much that il> good in the c1lUrch
humor j nor, despite the reverence due to die holy
character t)f Ihe 6uhject, is if po6f'>ihlo 10 rc p ~ a flmile
TilE G RE EK CIIIJRCIi. 195

at the malice of' the monkish illnminator, when he decks


out tJle Pharisee in the robes and jewels of some neigh-
boring bishop, or at the prurient imagination of the
cloister, whell it breaks forth in warm delineations of
all the charms and temptations by which sin can lcad
poor man astray."
During tlle palmy days of R ussian influence, holy
pictures, relics, and chu rch ornaments were sent regu-
larly to tile p ious 'Vallachs to kcop them in thc best
opinion of the Czar, whom maIjy of them look upon as
the great head of the Greek church, although they are
dependent upon tJle P atriarch of Constantinople.
Church bells have been allowed in the P rincipali-
ties only siuce they came under the protection of Rus-

SIR . As the Turks were never partial to the sound of

bells, the Christians were formerly called to the house


of worship by the iocca, a wooden hammer rattled upon
a board. This usage is still kept up in many of tJle
churches of B ukarest, and I was every moming waked
from my slumbers by a horrid tIme of the above J...-jnd.
rapped ofl' in the dome-like cupola of an adj oinin g
cburc11.
In G reek churches the main body of the edifice,
where the anditors stand instead of being seated, is
separated from the orchestra and altar by the I C0na8-
iae, n lofty screen behind which t he priests chant and
go through the multitude of manipulations and semi-
p rostrations that chnractcrize the serviM of the Eastern
196 ROUMANTA.

church. Now and then a veil is rcluo\'cd, allowing a


glance into the secret penel1'olia, or a little door is
opened through which tJlC priest emerges bearing the
host, at the sight of which the aucucncc falls upon the
pavement, each one repeating tll(l 8i&"Il of the cross time
after time.
I attended worship one day at the Metropolitan
church, one of the most interesting buildings in the
'Vallaeliian capital, from the fact that it contains the
ashes of St. Demetrius, and was in fonner times the
scat of the General Assembly of the Principality.
On the way, at the carly hour of eight, the streets
were filled with wagons from the conntry. F rom in-
quiry I learned that the princi pal market of tHe week
was held on Sabbath morning, ill order that the pca-
sants might seU their vegetnbles, and purchase forgive-
ness of their sins from Ole priest on the s.'l.me occasion,
without loss of time. I was not a little SUll.)riscd to see
sneh an exhibition of p ractical talent on the part of
the miserable 'Vallaehs, but the Cllstom doubtless de·
scended froIn the ancient Greeks, who sacrificed to th e
gods at Ole great games and other important gatherings.
On entering the Metropolitan church I found th e
immense inclosUl'c packed with a miscellaneous au·
dience of Boyards, citizens and peasants. The males
and females occnpioo difrcrent parts of the housc. A
morc uninteresting assemhlage I nevcr beheld. The
want of intelligence, the bigoted and fanatical look,


TilE (lRl:J;K CHURCD. 197

the soulless expression of that mass of men and


women, was surpassed only by the careless, ignorant,
and sensual appearance of the crowd of priests who
1ISSisted their bishop in going through what seemed a
shocking mockery of di "inc service. There was not a
thought of solemnity in the whole affair. I am in no
danger of forgetting those priestly petrifactions in
brimless hats and long black robes, whose consecrated
locks and beards Jlaa apparently never been desecrated
by unholy shears and razors. They yawned, laughed,
and sent their roving eyes over the audience, and occh-
sionally I saw indignant glances falling upon myself
for not choosing to faB down at the sight of a gewgaw,
and refusing to kiss a bad picture of the Pangltia, or
All-llOly Virgin, defiled already by hundreds of nasty
lips.
The love of the Oriental Ch ristians for relics known
to be forged is something remarlmble. They do not
admit images, but emJlloy both in tllCir dwellings and
churches raised pictures which must be worked by a
person lying flat upon the floor, and not be sold
for money. The latter restriction, however, is some-
times adroitly avoided. The manller in which even
well-dressed persons kiss the hands and garments
01' l)riests more ignorant thau themselves is enongh
to disgust the spectator. Sermons are unknown
amongst them . Almost the entire service is made up
of prayers and readings in the ancient Slavonic lan-
198 IWUMAN IA.

guage, chanted throngh tho nose in a way that would


do honor to a Jewish synagogue, a nd fu rn ishing a mag-
nificent exaggeration of the old Puritan twang. The
nasal organ seems to be al most the only part of the
vocal apparatus brought into requisition in the apparent
attempt

"To crack tho ~'oloo of melody,


And break the legs of time."

Yet this kind of music, continued for two hours, with


scarcely a moment's interval,

"To heal the blows of sound,"

is rag:mlcd as superlatively beautiful. The inclosed air


became mcplIitic from the clonds of burning incense
and the smoke of scores of tallow candles. I was glad
to leave the edifice as well as the fou r-and-twenty
pitiable beggars whom I counted at the door.


CHAPTER IX.

A NIGHT RUlE IN ROUl!.A:NlA.

" Fast, fast with wild speed sp\ll'lllbg,


Thu dark grey cha'"S"'r Bed"

A FTIi:R a six weeks' residence I determined to leave


Bukarcst. I had Ii ved long enough among its Boyards
and slaves, its palaces and hovels, its gardens and
morasses; had seen enough of its Parisian luxury and
Pariau poverty!
The Daco-Romuns have a capital substitute for a.
fast American railway. Nothing can be morc primi-
tive than their cal'utzas, or post-wagons, the origin of
which must date back to the time when the Scythians
• wandered over the Wallachian plains. Not a pa11iclc
of iron is used in the construction of the four diminutive
wooden wheels upon which is fastened a wicker basket,
resembling a crate fOf crockery ware, and j ust large
enough to hold a single person of flexible extremities
and moderate horizontal dimensions.
To this vehicle, bllt little larger than a wheel-
barrow, and uniting in itself all possible inconve-
niences, are attached by meshes of ropes from four
200 ROUlL\NIA.

to eight Wallnchi:m horses, or mares, perhaps, with


as many colts, frisking around them. The traveller
imbeds himself in the fermented bay, which is to be
his only cushion, and is 8ufficientJy supplied with
thorns to keep up a cutaneons as well as mental irrita·
tion. The 8Un'Uju, fL. swarthy long-haired Wallach,
wcaring a s!ouched hat and ample breeches secured a.t
the waist by a b road leather girdle, mounts one of
the hind horses, and at hia shrill cry the fl eet little
steeds Jay back their cars, and start off at a speed that
sets ordilHlIY locolUotion at defiance. Should any of
the wild-looking horses g ive out, they nrc abandoned by
the &U1'I'UjM, to be picked up on his return.
In the streets of Bnkarcst I was asphyxiated with
dust, and twice, b efore leaving the city, the wooden
linch-pins fl ew out, leading me to fear a total breaking
lip of my strange "Vehicle.
Soon after p assing the outer barrier a drizzling rain
came on, driven by a fierce south-cast wind, directly
into my face. I nstead of flying throllgh a cloud of

dust, I thenceforth experienced a continuous shower of
liquid mud.
Kalarasche is seven 'Vallaehian posts fro m Buka-
rest, a distance of about seventy E nglish miles. The
road extends over the broad prairies, or rather the
successive plateaux, elevated a few feet above each
other, in tbe direction of the Carpathians. Scarcely a
tree or shrub was to be seen. More til an once J
A NIGHT J: IOE IY nOU"!.L\ NIA. 20 1

imagined mysclf on the fmniliar prairies of lllinois_


Tho crops had been gathered in the vicinity of B llka-
rest, and, as I advanced, the eountz·y bore fewer evi-
dences of cultivation_ In the times of Turkish authority
tho peas.'lnts constructed tLeir rude huts as far as possi-
ble from the trU\'elled rOlltes, so as to avoid the oppres-
sive visitations of their masters j and the recent incur-
sions of the Cossacks have not tended to encourage
fami\[ari ty on thc part of the poor 'Vallachs.
Tho road is in a state of nature, but the indomitable
8Urruju, to usc a Germanism, soon lays bohind the
distance of a si ngle post. IIis prolonged shout indicates
that the solitary buildings on the plain b efore us arc
the Mlay station. We have arrived. The 8u1'ruju dis-
mounts in front of a low cabin with papor windows_
H ore is the master of 'the station in slippers; his neck
and bosom exposed, a pipe in hand, and the sheepskin
juha thrown carelessly over his shoulders.
"The horses, Dil'Cctor!"
"11zey will bc here pret:;ently."
" Where arc they?" I continue.
"Feeding yonder upon the plain. Patience I pa-
tience !" he replies ; and surc enough, instead of stand-
ing ready in the stable, thc horses were quietly grazing
nearly a mile away. The arlindUJl (hostlcr) mounts one
of the last rclay, brings up tile dz'Ove at D. furiolls
gallop, and selects four fresh horses at hazard. The

,.
tacluwIMca (assistant) slips t hc conaz'S ovcr their heads,

202 l wu:o.r.\NIA.

shortens one of the rope traces lIud lengthens another,


ties n few loose knots, and all is ready. The new
8UN'uju monnts. My way-bill has been vis6c, and in
the meantime I have enjoyed fOol' a few minutes the
pil)C of contentment. The surruju of the last post
holds out his hat for the customary bacJaJltee8h. " H ere
:is a zwanzigcl'!" and I throw twenty paras to the
tscluuJU8c/t.
IVc dash forward with headlong speed, and fly
through two or three Wallachian villages, proximity tQ
which is indicated by a collection of conical cleva-
tions above the level of the plain. The shouts of the
postillion bring out the mde denizens of these subter-
raucous abodes, the same as when the traveller ap-
proaches the villages of the p rairie dog in the W est.
Nothing jn the way of description can give an idea
of It "\Valiachi:Hl village inhabited by the poorer class
of peasants and the gipsies, There, animals and h uman
beillf:,1'S enjoy the shelter, food, breath, and social plea-
sures of ench other,- man and nature being on most
familiar terms, Never before, not even in the by-
lanes of London, where stinging poverty and corr uption
slink away from the eye of charity, have I seen SUel l ,
cutting want, such abject, intense misery. lIappy,
thl'ice happy in comparison al'e the poor families of
New York, crowded into subterr(l.llCan chambers, filthy,
diminutive, and even chalked off by lines into still
smaller compartm ents, 'j ile roof" of these miserable
A NIGHT m m: IY ROUlI'&N IA. 203

undergrQu nd h uts dQ nQt oven cOllceal frQm sight the


fi lthy beings within, who live iu an atmosphere in im-
IIlcdiate rapport with tho burning Qr freezing sky above.
" 0 master ," said a wretched 'Vallaehian woman to fL
traveller, " you sec these two mats, all soiled and t rod-
dOll in the m.ud. I have a goat and t wo sheep, and in
the winter I sleep with them to koop me and my
littlc QIlC warm." Neill" the first rclay station I noticed
a peasant ewuchod in the cornel· of his cabin, to keep
dry. " 'Vhy don't you repair the roof of your hut 1" I
inqui red.
" It rains too fUBt, master," was the answer.
" B ut why not repair it when t he weather is good f'
" Oil , it's of no use then."
These wretched beings have tile secret of diSS()lving
their sorrows in liquors of the vilest quality, and when a
-wandering band of gipsies appears among them the
dirt-besmeared and ragged creatures will dance and
caper about as n imbly as tho rocks and trees to the
atrains of Orp hous.
We push onward. '11:t(l fourth station is at last
reached. It has al ready been dark three hours, and
snch darkness !-blaek enough to

" - - be bottled up
And sold fQf Tyrian dye."

Si xteen hOr8(s and four postillions had been exhausted.


204 nOUMAxIA .

ThO\lgh wet, hungry, and well nigh shaken to pieces,


I determined to push forwa rd, The 8urruju shouted as
he reined up before the low post-1IOuse, and the master
soon appeal'ed with a paper lantern. They shuddered
when ulltackling the pant ing horses, and motioned
me to enter the hut. B ut I kept my seat, pointed to
the thatched stable around which tlte wind was whistling
in fitful gusts , nnd then towards Kalarasche, still three
posts distant.
F rom my Turkish uniform they doubtless took me
for an officer of Omar Paeha.'s staff hastening to
Stamboul with despatches. They were accnstomed
to obey, and on producing my }mssport reluctantly
complied. The swarthy W allach monnts, the long
peitaclw swings and cracks, and into the thick night.
we plunge, r egardless of darkness and the storm. liow
shall I forget that inky sky, that driving sleet piercing
coldly to the very bones, that foolish adventure worthy
of one of the heroes of Ossian.
The 8urruju had selected the fleetest horses at the
station, I had promised liberal back8heesh, and such was
the speed with which wc flew flc ross the plain, withou t
any attempt to follow the road,llmt the little carutza
secmed hardly to touch the earth. Suddenly the wind
changed and blew upon my baek. An unexpected
flash of lightning, followed by the muttering of distnnt
thunder, relieved for a moment the intense darkness,
A tbunderstonn, cradled among the ClIllmthians and
.A :>:IGIIT IU01-; IX ROtnIANIA. °0
~ "'

hurl'jed furionsly onward, was about to burst upon llS.


The surrnjn orienting himself by n dim light that
glimmered several miles from us 011 the prairie, llrgcd
his horses to the top of their speed. E scape was im-
possible. It was ono of those fcarfnl tempests wh ich
often break unexpectedly upon the lonely traveller on
the 'Vallachiall plains-more fearful than the storms
that sweep o\'cr our prairie seas . Vivid flashes of
lightning, such as blind the eyes and almost wither
the sonl, now and then revealed the StOl1U-clollds piled
above each olhcr-the rcvoh' lng squadrons of hCiwcn's
artillery whose reverberations became more terrific
every moment..
Our fl eet l ittle horses strove in min to distance the
fiery chariot wheels of the tellll)est. The surl'uJu,
inclining for ward and vigorously applying the peiuche,
his long loose sleeves and locks of hair i10ating in the
wind, looked to me like one of the warlike Centaurs in
pursuit of the Lllpithre; nor could I dispel from my
mind the classic illusion. I was npprehensive of dan-
ger, The storm bust upon liS in all its fury . The
jolting of the cal'utza, wh ich I feared every moment
wOllld fly in pieces, became llllendnmble. I thOllght
of all the hideous instr uments formerly uscd to torture
criminals, and more than once imagined myself to be
Mazeppa bound upon a wild steed of the Ukraine.
" Halt I halt !" I shouted to the 81.trl'uju.
I' HiB! J["rmJ .' Me.' Bdl.rl.1l!" \\'1\.8 tlle only answer
206 RomlANIA.

amid the roariug of the wind and the crashes of thun-


der. Just then we happened to leave the velvety track
of the prairie and strike a section of the road that had
been badly cut up by the Russian artillery wagons.
A crash ensued j one of the leaders stumbled and fell,
and I was tlU'OWll, fortunately without injury, upon the
grass. The glimmering light had disappeared several
minutes before. The 8urruju, gnided by the sense of
feeling, collected the wreck of the carutza, but with all
his rude skill could not put it together. 'Ve deter-
mined to abandon it. My carpet bags were lashed upon
one of the horses, and I had mounted another to grope
our way over the plain, when a brilliant and prolonged
flash of lightning, opening as it seemed a pauoramic
view into another world, revealed the isolated station
scarcely a q uarter of a mile distant. W e reached
it without great difficulty, and gained admittance.
The pOEit-house was of the better sort of Wallachian
tenements. Travelling in those low D anubian coun-
tries, however, makes one acquainted with strange
b edfellows. In tnw Daco-Roman style, parents, chil-
dren, and guest lodged in the same diminutive chamber,
Overcome with fatigne and the excitement of the last
post, I threw myself, hungry and drcnched as I was,
upon the rude divan, Rnd llsing au urchin for a pillow,
sank immcdiately into a refreshing sleep, which, how-
ever, was not of long duration. Amid the howlings
of the stonn I dreamed thnt I was at sea. I thought I
A NIGHT I tIDE IS ltOU.'>L\ SIA. 207

had climbed aloft one gloriolls evening, as was my


wont, to see the Slln d il) his golden tresses in the ocean.
A tempest burst upon us almost instantaneously. F or
some reason I could not descend from the dizzy height,
and hour after honr, as the ship plunged, and bathed
her yard-arms in the yeasty crests of the waves, I clung
to the slender mast with a.. deathlike grasp. 'Vilat
agony! That; dream will never cease to haunt my
sleeping hours .
·When I awoke the sun had not yet risen above the
WaJlachian plain . The stann had swept past. The
golden and vermilion tint of the eastern sky, and a
sweet and bal my freshness of tJle air, p romised a
magnificent day. The humble blades of grass had be-
decked themsel ves with queenly pearl-drops, and Na-
ture smiled the more sweetly after the fierce strife of
her clements.
A fter partaking of a cup of Tu rkish coffee, with
black bread, I scated myself in a new earutza-, and was
soon rolling over tJIC soft p rairie, almost as sw iftly and
gently as a cal" moves upon the even rail. While en-
loying a landscape that would have del ighted Paul
Vcronesc, I did IIOt omit the long ehihouqlle, loaded
with the fragrant tobacco of the Orient.. An hour car-
riedlls to the next station. My waybill was nowhere
to be found . I had left it where I romained o,'er nigllt.
I t being impossible to proceed without the uocmnent,
the taelW0U8cn WAA mOllnted Oil a fleet. horse, ftnd sent
208 r:OU.llANB.

back with the prom(sc ot liberal backaMesh, in case of


a speedy return.
ill the house of the director promised more than
usual comfort, I ordered the best tiley could prepare
for breakfast. The host was a noble 'Vutlach, with a
strong Roman cast of countenance, who fortunately
spoke German; his wife, ,n chnr ming little woman, as
blooming and natm'al as the fresh daisies scattered over
the prairie. Save her own maternal limba rtrnmane8M ,
she spoke only the language of bright eyes, sweet looks,
and winning smiles.
Their hquse furnished a good specimen of Wallachi un
dwellings in the country. These, whether sllbtcrra-
neous or not, arc usually oblong, and divided into
three apartments, the middle olle of which opens into
the two others. From the central compartment a large
clay fnmace, or rather an immense o\·e», usually white-
washed on the outside, projects into the room occupied
by the family, and fnmi shes an agreeable warmt1l.
For a floor, the inmates use a piece of the soil which
God gave to be lived upon, whilc a raised divan or a
simple bunk of earth extemling around three sides of
the room, is so covered with mats and blankets as to
sen'C for scats by day and a couch by night.
I was often snrprised at the order and ncatnesa
prcyailing in these uniquc dwellings, which are so un-
promising externally. The men are as idle as the
Jazzaroni of I taly, hnt the women arc acth·c, and
A NIG HT mot; L" IWUl lANLA . 209

exhibit considerable taste in ornamenting the interior


of their rude cabins with sundry figures and frescoes
unknown to the plastic art elsewhere, and p roduced
from the variously colored clays found in t.he neighbor-
hood. Unless there be great. pretensions to respecta-
b ility, the apartment in the other end of the kolihe is
given over to the a nimal creation, which there enj oys a
degree of familiarity with its mastel'S thnt must astonish
shepherd-loving poets, and aU sentimentalists of that
school.
The little table, spread d la TU1'que, with the addi-
tionalluxury of knives and forks, was soon brol1gl!t in,
and we squatted arollnd it upon the divan. I had for
some weeks enjoyed the magnificent dinners of Mu7.u
Paeha, commandant of Bukarest, where, at the expense
of the GoVel"llment, the treasures of the French and
Wallachian cuisill<; wcrc daily exhausted in sprcading
a luxurious feast. Paehas and post directors, however,
live ill a diffe rent style. Before m e werc no sweet rolls
and cafe au lait of Bnkarest, no caviar of Giurgevo, no
game from the Bastarnic Alps, nor trout from the icy
torrents of Mount Pion, no confiture ofYassy, with sweet
tWultchafJ, no generous wine of Bnl zeo or Cotnar, and
110 luscious grapes from the blushing hills of Campinn,
to be eaten to the soft musie of the laulari. In plnce
of these l uxuries we had eggs, salted fish from the
Danube, and plastic mamagUa, made of corn-meal and
water.
21" EOUMANIA.

Yet, in r espect to intelligence and family COmfOIts,


my host, Jian Bibesco, ·was of the better class of WaJ-
lachs. After our meal~more suitable, it must be con-
fessed, for a fastidious vegetarian than a hungry tra-
veller~his smiling little wife brought in pipes and
coffee. I n the use of these Oriental luxuries-and
where, 0 reader, can they be enjoyed as in the East1~
the Wallachs have adopted the manner of the Turks.
Tbe moments passed by insensibly, as, reclining upon
the rude divan, we related our various adventures.
"Are there no robbers, no 'VaUach hyduks among
the Carpathians, like Basil and Bujor and tJlC polished
Jian of the last generation i" I inquired.
"Few since the breaking out ofthcGreek revolution,"
he replied, 'I they thrive better among the Balkans.
Bnt I ean relate an adventure with one who for years
,vas the terror of the Prineipa]ities~who was more
famous than either of Ihe names yon have mentioned."
"Let me hear the story."
"Many years ago," began Ribeseo, " I was travel-
ling among the P laiul iiotilor (the home of Ihe Goths)
ill the northern part of'Valiaehia. There wcre two of
liS. 'Vhile Ihreading a deep mountain gorge, all at once
we heard near us the sharp report of' a gun, which in
laconic Pandonr style meuus, halt! 'Ve sloppOO_
Seven mcn clncl·ged from the dark thicket Ilear at hand,
and ran up to us. Thcy were armed to the teeth, richly
clothed in Albanian costumes, and with faces so coo-
A NiGHT RID),! IN ROU ll ANIA. 211

cealed by the folds of full silk t urbans that their eyes


only could be seen.
", Halt there ! techokcd (dogs),' cried the chief, who
alone was uncovered, ' whither do you j ourney l '
"' To Campina.'
'" IIa'le you auy arms or powded ' aud, without
waiting for an answer, he ordered us to dismount.
"My companion drew a pistol, b ut he had hurdly
touched the gro·u nd when tbe chief leaped upon him
like a tiger, w rested the- weapon from his haud, and
brought him to the ground with a blow of the breech.
I thought him dead.
"' H ere is the powder.'
" H e snatched it from my hand, aud then in a more
familiar toue asked, I H ow much money have you in
specie l'
"'Thirty ducats.'
""Ve will divide.'
" l gave him the p urse. You will see that our moun-
tain klepht was more generons than Basil, who let his
victim pass by in order to attack him from behind, lind
make himself dru nk with blood, -bnwer and nobler
than that superstitious fanatic, B ujor, who used to
pray in a church on Sunday and pillage it on Mon-
day, who would not eat meat on Tuesday for an empire,
but would have assassinated you the day follow ing for a
pipe of tobacco.
'" There a.re nine of liS,' said th e chief : 'four times
212

6c\'cn make twenty-cight j' and opening the purse he


took from it two ducats, and handed them to me, say-
ing, 'That is enough for two such cownMi (timid
females) to reach Campilla. R emount and go in peace!
you have nothing to fear-I am Kirjuli ,'"
" Did tLat happen in the open day?" I inquired.
" In the open day-in the ,·cry face of the snn.
Kirjali was as brave as his yataghan, Ilnd would have
blushed to lise thc night."
"TIe reminds me," said I, "of t h e monntain brigands
of Anatolia, who, notwithstanding their nefarious pro-
fession, l)ractisc the motto that ' honesty is the best
policy! They secrete themselves in the fastnesses of
the mountains, and watching an opportunity, make
prisoners of p ersons who can command a heavy ransom .
Not long ago, jn the vcry street of a city, they seized
upon the son of a wealthy merchant and hurried him
away with impunity. Word was sent to the father that
his child would be delivered up in a certain place for
20,000 piastres, but jf not ransomed at a given date,
they might have his head. 1110 distressed parent,
hoping that something would intervenc, delayed send-
ing the money until a. few hours after the sti pulated
time. It was too late. The bandits were true to their
word. The bloody head was sent back together with
the bags of piastres."
"Bnt the story of K irjali-let me hear the story of
his life," and wc charged om long chibouqnes once
A .1>IGII1' IUD !> IN" I:01::\IANIA. 213

more with fragrant latakiah~ OIlCC morc married it with


the aromatic nectm' of Mocha.
"Kirjali was 1m Albanian," resnmed my companion.
" Ilis rcal namc is unknown; thc Turks call him Kirjali ,
which signifies the brave, and YOll will see how well he
merited the appellat ion. H e is the Mandrin and Jack
Sheppard of the Moldo·Wallachs. There is not a
Rouman ian maiden but sings his gallant deeds j not
a peasant on the plains or among the mountains who
docs not recite his daring exploits by the winter nrc.
The R ussian poets and painters h ave celebrated the
curious episodes of his history, and both P ousekhine
and V aillant ha"e given to the world many of the cir-
cumstances Wllich I am about to rel ate.
"Ki rjali ...vas nve-and-twenty years of age when a
strange adventure threw him this side the Danube.
The kCbya of the village violated his wife. That ia a
crime which the injured man no·where pardons, and
least of all, in Turkey. K irjali resolves to be re\'engcd.
At the news of bis dishonor, he relates it to his assem-
bled associates, and, while he moves them to p ity, leads
them to fear the repetition of his wrongs upon them-
selves. 'Vith him they repair to t he dwelling of the
kekaya. At t he noise of the crowd collected in tIle
courtyard the. lat ter steps out upon the balcony, but
quick ns lighbling, bcfore he has time to ask the cauae
oftheirpl'escncc, KirjaJi stands before him with menacing
gestures, foaming mOltth, and eyea burning with ragc.
2H r:.ODUXIA,

" . W retch!' cl'ics the inj ured ma.n , , ask pa rdon of


this multitude.'
"The k6kaya, with t rue Mussulman hauteur, re-
sponds only with a smile of contemp t.
" 'Demand pardon!' again cries the infuriated
K irj ali.
'" Away, Giaour!' rej oins th e kCkaya, gnashing
his teeth in rage, and bringing his hand to the hilt of
his handja r.
'" Giaou r !' reiterates Kirjali w ith fury. 'Giaour !
Yes, Ogblan Ali, thou ba.se slave !' and he throws him-
self lIpon the kckaya. ' P ardon, Oghlan A li ! ask
pardon of this multitude, by Christ ! by Allah ! Thou
wilt not ~ Yet once-110 1 accursed be thou I' Inclin-
ing over the balcony he cried to the m ultitude below-
, Christians ! make place for this brute.' The crowd
dra ws back. TIe exerts an his strength. ' Beware of
the stone!' shouts he, and a h oarse groan is heard
below. TIle blood flows, the k6kaya expires, and the
crowd disperses, saying coldly, ' The dog of a Moslem
is dead .' Kirjali has taken fligh t, carrying with him
only his implacable enmity to the Turks.
"Arrived in 'Vallachia he cntel'8 tile service of
the Boyard Dudesco, and makes the acquaintance of
S"edko, the Sen'illll, and n1so of Mikalak6. The tall
stature of Svedko, the rob\lst and trained body of the
Moldavian, and the audacious bravery of bOUI, mark
thel11 as proper men for Kirj ali. lIe g:ains their friend-

. . . ' ....... ..... Ie•. ..IU


A NIGIIT RIDE I S ROU)JANIA. 215
ship, and inspires them with his own hatred of the
Moslems. ,Vhen he thinks them weaned from the do-
mestic life which is so repugnant to himself, and comes
to regard them as men after his own heart, he commu-
nicates his projects, organizes a band of robb~rs, and
makes the two brigands his aids.
"At that time the P hanariotGreeks were in l)osses-
sion of most of the resources of tile Principalities which
wore fanned out to them by the Turks. The latter re-
garded themsel ves as masters of tho soi l. Mussulmans
with well-filled girdles were to be me~everywhorc,in the
khans of the cities, in the caravanserais, and upon tlle
grand routes, even to the defiles of the Carpathians.
The Wallaehs were but little removed from slaves, and
KirjaH fouud thousands of opportunities to satisfy his
vengeance upon their cruel Turkish masters. For
tllrce years he enriched himself with theil' plunder
alone. Many a wealthy merchant, who had jounIeyed
into Moldavia to purchase its famous wax, and honey,
and ia88M, never revisited his 1: indred; lllany a wife
and daughter wept in the Turkish lUlrems in vai n fo r a
wished return. The name of Kirjali became terrible
on both banks of the Dunube.
"Among otllCr exploits he crossed over into Bulga.
ria, and assisted by MikalakC alone, attacked a large vil-
lage. Kirjali entered lllany of the houses, aud set them
on fi re, cutting down without l)ity whosoever resisted,
while his lieutemint was occupied in collecting and


21 6 ROUlIlAN I A.

g uarding the booty. They retired without molestation.


Nor did Rirjali always spare the Ch ristians. Thus
with a band of tJlree hundred P andour$ he went frow
one Pdncipality to the other, levying contributioll8
upon yillages, pillaging the mansions of wealthy
Boyard5, and scattering £re and carnage until 1821,
when Alexander Ypsilanti incited a general insurrec·
tiou in Wallachia and Moldayia. I nfluenced on the
olle hand by the !tetarie, that vast association organ·
ized for the liberation of Greece, and on the other by
the eloquent appeals of Theodore V ladimiresco to the
Daeo-Rom.ans, he resolved from a Ityduk to become a
hero in the cause of the Greeks-from a brigand to
become an Albanian prince. Assembling his compa-
uions, hc addresses them in thc-sc words :-
" < Brothers! for four years we have shared the same

dangers and the same joys. If yOIl are satisfi ed with


you r brother he is satisfied with you. B ut the moment
is come when I must lea\·e you, if yOIl prefer not to
foHow me~ for the h our of independence has sounded
for tbe Chl·istians of Tur"key. Ypsilanti is at B urlata:
he is marching upon Foscllllna. Theodore V1adimi·
resco is at CrajoYa, and will soon attack Dukarcst.
Choose fur YOUloselves: you nrc fl·ce. He who loves
me will be with me.'
<: At tl1ese words Mikala"k6 and three·fourths of the
band rungud themseh·es aroulld their chief; the re-
ulaiuder p laced themselves b(>hind Svedko.
A .NlOlrf mDE IN ROU~lA..''''A. 2 17

" , Adieu, comrade,' suid Ki rjali to the latter, 'but


Ict us always be b rotllcrs.'
- " The next morning beheld our new Scanderbeg on
a P ersian carpet, smoking and sipping coffee, a 14
Turque, in the tent of Ypsilanti.
" Kirjal i was to the last a faith fu l partisan of the
H etarists.
"J3ut neither he, nor the chicfs undcr whom he
fought, had a just comprehension of the movement in
which they were engaged. Their forces were insufficien t.
Material resou rces were wanting, while the Turks were
well organized and prepared for th e emergency. The
neighboring p owers also looked upon this l)remature
uprising of the H ellenists and H etarists with apathy
and indifference. Ypsilanti found himself unequal to
the crisis. IIavillg quickly become master of the great-
er lJart of the country, and even of Bukarest, he lost
precious timc in irresolution and vaiu parades, and
when, at last, forced to engage with the Turks in
earnest, the flower of his army perished, while the chief
himself fled to A ustria. Kiljali fought like a lion at
Dragascllun. Ten Osmanlis, they say, fell under his
yataghun. W ith Mikalake and a few others, he escaped
the massacre of the sacred battalion. The cause of the
H etarists was lost in W allachia, and the insurrection
completely suppressed.
" 111e remnant of the revolutionists, who had escHped
into Moldavia, seven hundred in all, made a last stand
10
218

on the Pruth, opposite the small R ussian town of


Skoulianzy. 11lCir lender CnntaclIxcno ran away as 800n
as the Turkish army of 12,000 men made ita appear-
ance. Kitjali, Contognni, Safionos, and the other brave
mcn who composed this little army had, however, no
need of n chief in order to do tlleir duty. While the
first kept the enemy at bay by means of two small field-
pieces, carried from J assy, Contoguni by a skilful
manceuvrc attacked them in the rear. Overwhelmed
by numbers the leader perished and three hundred of his
braTc (0110"·01'8 wi.th him. Kitjnli and his band BOOn
exhausted their supply of shot, but loading with broken
anns, sword points, and spear heads, still kept np a fire
upon the Turks.
"The latter were well supplied with artillery, bnt
abstained almost entirely from us ing it for fear tbat
their projectiles would fly across the Pntth, and implant
themseh'es in Russian soil. A few balls, however, did
whistle near the cars of the Commnndnntof Skoulianzy,
when, greatly enraged, he addressed a violent expos-
tulation to the Turkish paeha, who turned pale at this
violation of Russian territory, and was careful not to
commit a second offence. Kirjali's band, having fired
away their silver ornaments, tlleir short daggers, and
even the few pieces of money ill their poekete, were
forced to giv e way. Nothing remnined to them bot their
pistols and yataghans.
'" Let bim save himself who can,' cried Kirjali,
A N IGHT mDE IN ROUllANIA. 219

when the survivors plunged into the river, and twenty


of them succeeded in reaching the opposite bank. Thcre
they embraced each other like brothers, and fled to the
Russian town of Kiswnief. Kirjali and Mikalake were
among the survivors."
"Shall we depart, seignors 1" said the ardndus, look-
ing in at the door, uncovered.
The (,r/Gha()uscl~ had retul"Ued with my waybill and a.
fresh reInyof horses stood before the carutza. Jian Bi-
besco determined to accompany me to the next station,
and filling the little box with fragrant hay we managed
to make a comfortable scat for both upon the top.
" Haidee 1 haidee I" (hasten! away !) and we were
soon whirling over the soft green p rairie,

"A$ fast as fast could be."

"But, K irjali 1" said I, when my companion had


fin ished his chibonqlle: "what became of the brave
hyduk ~"

" I will tell yon. After his escape from the Turks
on the Pruth, he lived for some time inCOflnito at Kis-
senief. He and his companions spent their days in the
coffee·houses, smoking long pipes and entertaining each
other with long storics of adventure. They wore their
old Alb.'mian costume with girdles glittering with
pistols a nd yataghans, and though apparently poor, bore
themselves as proudly as in tJw days of their prosperity.
It came to be wh ispered that Kirj:lli was among them.
220 lI.OliMA~' I,\ .

"The party assembled one evening at a. coffee-house,


and were disputing with wannth about the flight of
Ypsilanti and the death of Vladimiresco, when Kirjali
rose and bringing his hand to his yataghan, exclaimed,
'Accursed be the assassin of Theodore Vladimireseo!'
.An hour after he was arrested by a dozen Cossacks, and
carried before the governor of the town. H e knew
not what awaited him, but thinking that he had merited
well of Russia, supposed that the reputation of his
bravery had reached the ears of the Emperor, and that
he was now about to be presented with a decoration or
a sword of h onor."
"Fortunate man I" I intermpted.
" Wuit a moment!" replied my companion.
"Kirjali was brought into the presence of the g0-
vernor.
"'You are a brigand!' said the latter, sternly eyeing
the prisoner. The chief was stupified, and for an in-
stant lost all courage, but recovering himself, replied,
'I fou ght after the flight of Ypsilanti, and emptied my
pockets to pay the Turks in the battle on the Pruth.'
" 'TIlen you are Kirjali l' continued the governor.
"'Himself!' answered the chi ef. 'God knows I
am Kitjali.'
"'Enough,-the pacha ofYassyclaims you. Accord-
ing to tlH:l convcntions between the Turks and oursel ves
you must be g iven IIp.'
"Kirjali threw himself at the feet of. the governor.
A NIOIlT RIDE IN ROUlIANll. 221

The lion-hcUl1cd man o·cmbled, and wept like a woman.


, Mercy! mercy" cried he. ' In Turkey it is true I was a
brigand, h ut my lland fell only up on the Turks and the
Boyards. God is my witness, that while I have been a
:refugee in your midst., I have harmed no one. I gav:e
my last pieces of silver to charge our cannon in the
affair of the Fruth. Since then I have not had a para.
I , KirjaJi, have lived lIpon alms! What have I done
that R ussia should sell me to my enemies l'
"In vain that he sought to toneh the stony heart of
the governor.
" 'You must explain with the pacha,' said the latter,
and an order was immediately issued for the extradition
6fKiljali to Yassy. Loaded with chains and thrown
upon a l-ibitka, he was escorted to the frontier, and
there handed over to the Turb. Mikala"k6 was ncar
him.
"Brought before thc paeha, Kirjali expected no-
th ing but death. 'Save my wife and c11ild,' said he,
' for myself, I hu\'e nothi ng to ask'
" H e was condemned to bc im})aled, but" it being
then the fast oflhe Ramazau, his execution was dcferl·cd
a few days. A guard of seven Turks conducted him
to prison, slill loaded with chains, with orders to watch
him closely, even in his cell. All resistance was im-
possible. A brave chief, Kirjali was also a st rategist
of consummate skill. TIe was 111lmble----f;0 mild and
compliant tklt the pride of his guardians was flattercd.
222 ROUll AN JoI..

H e understood their weakness, and aeted his part so


skilfully that the very first day they looked lIpon him
with a degree of compassion unusual to their feroc iolls
natures. The second day they spoke with him, and
the exploits of the bandit inspired in them an involun-
tary respect. The third day, with the naIf cul"iosity
peeulial· to the Orientals, they listened eagerly to the
recital of his numerons adventures. The fourth, an inti-
macy sprang up b etween them. T he fifth, they were his
friends: and the sixth day, without intendi ng it, they
wer'ee--"
" His liberators 1" I eagerly demanded.
or; Yon shaH sec," replied my companion.

"Seated in a circle round him on the evening of


the sixth day, they listened as he spoke to them of his
approaching death. His Yoieu flattered , his eyes
caressed them. lIe saw that they were moved.
'" The will of God be done !' said be. 'No one
can escape his destiny. My hour is near; bllt before
I die I would like to give yon some testimonial of my
regard.' .
"The Turks opened their eyes with attention.
" 'When about three years ago I was briganding
with Mikalak6 (may God g ive peace to his sonl!) I
buried my moncy hem and there: at Scallnu.hotilor, in
Wallachia, in Moldavia.--'
'" W here 1 where in Moldavia l' eagerly demanded
AsIan, the chief of the Mussulman guard.
A NiGHT lUDE IN ROUllANU. 223

'" At Vul canu.'


'" :F ar away l'
'" Among the mountains.'
'" III which direction l'
" , At the foot of Cicl iu.'
" 'Pekee ! ben pekee I' (good I very good I) rejoined
the Turks.
" ' But here,' continued Kirjali, I near by, only a
league from Yassy, behind the monastery of Cetatue, ill
an open place, twenty paces from a rock which TCsem-
bles a mastiff that has lain down to guard the pistols
of bis master '
'" Ev-.Allal~/' exclaimed the Turks.
", There, twenty paces from that rock we buried a
jar full of gold ducats. It is fated that I shan not
enj oy them. Find them; they arc yours.'
"At these words the Mussulmnns could hltrdly m~
derate their expressions of delight. AsIan alone was
SUSpICIOUS.
" 'Is KirjaJi a traitor or a brave man l' asked he.
'" Brave! brave ! ' responded his companions j
'brave is K irjali !'
" , It' he should conduct liS to the place 'I' said AsIan.
" " Vhy not l' replied the six othcrs.
'" That would colll])romisc you,' interrupted Kirjali j
'I have given yOIi the locality; yOll can easily find the
tretllmre.'
'" 'Vhy compromise us ¥' they 011 inquired. 'There
224 ROUlLAXIA.

is nQ danger. The night favors us. You shall be our


guide j and if you are not a brave man, there are seven
of us.'
" At midnight they took oft' his chains, tied his hands
firmly behind his back, and placing him in their midst,
left the prison without beiug perceived.
" Now Kiljali leads them. He traverses the city;
descends by Tahll'as ; passes before the COllycnt of
Fonnosa, ascends the woody escarpment of the monas-
tery of Cctatue, and stops a moment to take breath and
orient himself. lIe is in excellent spirit.s-overflowing
with that modest joy that accompanies a good action,
and speaks not, exccpt to testify his pleasure at being
useful to his companions.
" 'Shall we soon be there l' demands AsIan.
,,' SOOIl,' replies Kiljali, 'a hundred paces further
and-if I do not enter the paradise of the Christians,
pray Mohammed to open for me 11is own.'
"They advance: a slight rustling is heard, and a
dark shadow glides stealthily through the underwood.
Kirjali, with the ear of a rat and the eyes of a lynx, has
seen, heard, and understood. But when AsIan, turning
towards him, asks-
'" H ast thou seen tmything1'
" "Vhy then,' responds h~' Only a hare or a pa r-
tridge startled by our approach j' and to tum away all
suspiCion adds, 'To the right a little: let us leave the
woods.'
A NIGHT RJI)E Dl ROU.llANJA. 225

" Advancing a few rods further among the scattered


mounds, he stops short by a rock rising about two feet
abo\'e the ground, looks around for a momenf, and then
says to his guardiuns-
'" Measure twenty paces ill this direction, and dig.'
"Five of the 1\1I"ks draw their yataghans and begin
to remove the ealih with them, while the two othel"S
guard the prisoner seated on the stolle. They dig some
time in silence, and, to work WitJl more ease, take oU·
their turbans, detach their girdles, and lay their pistols
on the ground. Kirjali watches them. 'Not yed
Not yet come to it?' cries he, after they have worked
away fifteen minutes. 'Not yet. Allah help us!' re-
spond the Ottomans, the perspiration dropping from
tlleir faces.
'" Courage, you will soon reach the gold,' and t()
the two others he said pl ayfully, in a low voice, 'Let
them work; they will think all the more of me for it.
But I :un afraid they have not selected the precise spot.'
" 'Comrades!' cries one of the guards, 'dig more to
the right. You will never find it-IetKiljali assist you.'
'" Let him assist us,' responds Aslan, wiping the
perspiration from his brow.
"Kirjali is brought t.o the spot. AsIan unbinds ll im,
and places a yataghan in his hand. The two guards
also lay aside their pistols, and all faU eagerly to work.
Kirjnli digs with all his might, 1l9W and then ceasing
for a moment to stimulate the avidity of the Mnssul-
]0*
226 nQUlL\NI,\.

mans with a word of encouragement. At his example


the latter take courage: the t hirst of gold renews their
strength: they dig- dig with eager impatience.
" 'I have it!' at last cries Kirjali, 'here it is ! here
it is!'
"At these words the T urks t1l1"OW aside their yata-
ghans and ffill to work with their hands in impatient
hastc to uncover the t reasure.
" Kirjali rises up witil a groan of fatigue, and quicker
than l ightning plunges his yataghan into one of the
p rostrate 1\lrks. Leaving the steel in the wound, he
snatches up two of the pistols, shouts in a voice of
thunder, 'Slaves! here is my gold!' and buries tllci r
contents in two of his guards.
'" KirjaJi l' speaks a voice near by.
"'Mikalake !' responds K irjali- and the four remain-
ing Turks save themselves by flight.
"Masters of the field, Kirjali and Mikal akC embrace
each other as brothers.
'" My wi fe and my son l' asked Kirj ali.
" ' They are saved, and in a secure retreat.'
"'.JfaahalwA! I 1Ia,·c wel)t for them: God is merci-
ful !'
" Thus r<:tlnited, and having nothi ng to hope for from
the Turks, Kirjali and Mikalakc continued for a long
time their depredations in the vici nity of Yasey. TIley
even pusllCd thei r audacity 80 far as to threaten to bum
the city II nhml 1110 JT(I~ p(ld:l r . Jinn St()llriFa, should
A NIGH T Iwm l~ I!OU)I ANI.A. 227

remit the sum of 50,000 l)iastres within a week. The


mOlley was paid. But fortune ceased to favor llirjali.
Betrayed by one of his own men , and surprised while
asleep, he sold his life as dearly as possible in defending
himself and Mikalakc."
"Generous and heroic man, he deserved a better life
and a better fate, yet doubtless esteemed it fortunate to
die with his arms in his hands rather than to be stran-
gled or gibbeted.
"On the 20th of September, 1824," said Bibesco,
,'two bodies, covcred with wounds, sw ung from the
gallows of the J.IcYdan of Oapo. They were those of
Kirjali and Mikalak6, but the former was hung many
hours after l ife had departed. You have the story of
Kirjali."
Towards noon we halted a few miuutes at the hutof a
shepherd with whom the 8!trruju was acquainted. n is
lonely home was the only dwelling in sight on the broad
prairie, where, with his filithful dogs, in pasto,· costume
and crook in hand, he watched the bleating flocks and
lowing herds of his 'Vallachian lord. Rude and scanty
was the furniture of his hut, bnt the shephe,·d did his
best in the way of hospi tality. His was a. life of case,
if not of contentment. I n a legend of the country it is
related that a. shepherd, ha.ving been suddenly trans·
ported into the celestial regions, was not in the least
dazzled by its golden splendor, but simply pmyed God
for fl h~gp ipe.
228 t:OUllA."' U .

A fte r ali, shepherds aad sheph erdC~C!J are not the


deligh tful ercatmes represented by pocts. Their man-
neroflife, though Sighed for by the i llexperienccd and tho
scntilnclltai, is not en viilble. I t bas been my experience
to find them frequently tbe idlest of the idle, the vilest
of the vile, while their cottages, so poetical in descrip-
tion, are generally the abodes of squalid filth and cor-
roding PO\'Cl'ty.

"Tout poeUl u~ mcutcur ct lIOn mdicr I'excuse;"

yet if we may venture to believe a Daeo-Roman legend,


my shepherd host on the plain of 'VaIJach ia may have
been a happy man. H ere it is.
" Listen t(l me, 0 E mperor, itl all paticnce. I Rm
come to answer concerning the heR\'y task imposed upon
me. F or the purpose of restoring thee to health,O
Emperor, thou hast ordered me 10 buy the shirt of a
happy man. Anxious to lOen'e tllec and fin d a reme-
dy for thi ne a ffliction , I have tra\'cl'Sed the whole earth
searching with eare for the desired garment. B ut this
wOl'ld is R chaos of sorrows, There is n(\ perl30u without
t ronbles: no one is happy. I fonnd a young man,
handsome, rich, and of 1I0bie birth, IJllt the companion
of his heart was faithless; and I)e was mi ..erable. ITere
a father wept over a lost son, thcl'c one lamented that
he had none over whom to weep: neithcl' of them W 88
happy, W itll all the beauty, 1111 tile poetry, all the
wealth, all the health, all the satisfied desiJ'(!S of this
A :>WllT I:]])E D! JIOU)IANIA. 229

wm ld, still no person is happy. I saw that my com-


paniolts e,'ell were penetrated with grief to find that
there was not a single happy man in the whole
wol"ld.
" I despllired of thy recovery, when from the bottom
of a valley I heard one day the soft music of a lute.
\ Ve listened to the delightful notes: we rail to the place
whence they p l·oceeded. 0 heaven, what beaut.y ! A
lovely brook murmured through the valley, slowly and
softly. A little flock was lying down with the flowCl"S
and grazing among the trees. TIle shel)herd sang:
what happiness! 'Shepherd!' said I to him, 'thou
livest in misel"}'. Thy flock is too smaIL Come with
me to my Emperor, who wishes that the poor and the
lowly may, hereaftel', have him for a father, in order
that he may be happy.'
"TAIng li,'c the Emperor! but I have need of no-
thing. I am rich with my flocks, content with my
cottage_ I love God, my dog loves me: this brook
assuages my thirst: this flock nourishes me-I am
happy."
." Quick, quick! his shi rt; let me put it Oll; hasten,
o my benefactor!" cried the Emperor.
" Alas! sil'e, how great is my sorrow to tell yon
that this happy man had not even a shirt to his back."
. Vrithin a few miles of the Danube the country be-
came somewhat broken und uneven. From a low ri(lgc
I caught sight of the river. -With ,,·hut. joy did !
230 l tOUMANIA .

salute the noble stream gleaming there in the sunshino


and ever hurrying its broad and ceaseless flood towards
the Euxine ! Aclnllct Paeha's a.nny was stationed ncar
Kalaraschc. From the immense number of cattle and
sheep slaughtered to feed 30,000 soldiers, and the filthi-
ness of the Ottomans in everything but person and
dress, my olfactory organs announced tile proximity of
the camp before the green tenre of the Nizam became
visible. Soon, however, I saw the latter stretching
away in long picturesque lines, and b eyond them the
town of Kalarasche, the wide morass skirting the left
bank of the Danube, and the hills of Bulgaria looming
up in t he soft b>Tcy distance.
111e road ran directly through the Ottoman camp.
I wore the uniform of the Nizam, but fearing delay
and the p ossibility of being taken for a Russian spy,
directed tbe 8Urruju to eross the Hnes with all possible
speed. Two sentinels, however, ran up to the road,
and threatened to fi re nnless we came to a halt. The
frightened 8urruju checked his ]lOrses so suddenly that
he almost brought them upon their haunches. My
passport was carefully examined, but as it bad been visi
by the commandant at B ukarest, I was allowed to pro-
ceed. Some of the troops were b eing reviewed, OtllCrs
slaughtering animals, or cllgaged around the camp
fires, while others stiU, seated in groups on the grass,
were smoking long pipes and alleviating the fatigues
nf war with the ntl,'i f recitals of the Orientals. Many
A NIGIIT RIDE 1)1 ROU:1IANIA, 231
of tJlem were from slInny T ltnis and the shady villages
along the Nile. And they, 0 reader, with their worn
weapons and soiled standards, were no holiday troops,
but soldiers of many a hard-fought contest-men who
had shared the triumphs of Oltenitza and Cetate, and
shivered the Cossack rauks before the redoubts of
Kal:lfat and Silistria.
Just within the barri er of Kalarasche-a :filthy
Wallachian town of some 5000 inhabitauts-I noticed
thc long su bterraneau houses, or rather covered trenches,
ill which the R ussian troops had b een quartered the
previous winter, The 8uI'ruju set me down in the open
street. Leayi ng my baggage at the shop of a Jew
who fortunately spoke German, I sallied out to haye
my passport put in order for Silistria, whither I hoped
to proceed before nightfall. P recious hours, however,
were consumedin running from the military Commandant
to the police and fro m the latter to the quarantine.
The Chief of the last mentioned institution, without
whose signature it was impossible to eross the Danube,
I could not find at home, and having obtained a descrip-
tion of his person, b egan to search for him in the
streets,
·While wandering abont the t()wn I came uear
plunging headlong into an unguarded hole in the earth
which I at fi rst snpposed to be a well, bllt found to bo
the.entrance to an immense subterranean chambcr uscd
~ a depository for grain. Granaries like this are CI)III-
232 J:or::~[A.." 1.\.

mon in Wallachia, and indeed throughout the East.


I t is of such that the rich man said, "I will tear down
my barns an d build greater."
I also visited the grave of General Schilders, who'
was altogethcr the most capable man in the Russian
anny in the P rincipalities, and sacrificed himself in
the failure before the ontworks of Silistria. He
slceps by the side of 8 small Greek church. Two or
three 'Vallaehian soldiers dressed Ii la R U88e, were
standing guard near by.
W ith much trouble I ultimately found the quaran·
tine officer quietly enjoying his chibouque in front of a
Turkish khan, as unconcerned as if the plague and
cholera had never been heard of. TIe was a fair S8m-
pIe of government officials in the East.
A t sunset I strolled to the pavilion of Achmet

Paeha which had been erected on the low blllfl' bound-
ing the morasses of the Dannbe. Oil the latter, which
nre dry in the months of sumlller and autumn, a large
Russian force had operated during the siege of Silistria.
The sea. of yerdure was dotted here and there with
herds of cattle for the Nizam. Beyond the Danube,
and partially obscured by the golden shadows (of the
Bulgarian hills, were the tall minarets of Silistria.
A military band, com posed of Italians, played in
front of the paeha's tent. Softly their martial notes
floated away on tJIC evening air, and after that oriental
sunset, nil was so still and calm and bcntltiful that I
A NIGHT mD}: IN ROUlJANlA. 233

could hardly realize how recently its quiet had been


broken by the rude clamor of Mars. Terribly magnifi-
cent, from this point, must have appeared the night
bombardments of Silistria! Through streets crowded
with loitering officers and soldiers from the neigh-
boring camp, I repaired to a Wallachian Khan. They
could furnish me with supper but not with lodgings.
The same apartment served fora kitchen and eating-room.
Paint is II. l uxury unknown in Knlarasche. In place
of tables and chairs rude benches were ranged along
a couplc of fonns not unlike those from which I re-
member to have received my fi rst mental l)ubulum in
the old country school-house. Instead of consulting a
bill of farc, I had only to look into a row of flat coppel
kettles secthing over a charcoal fire, and choose from
which to make II. meal. Different kinds of meat and
vegetables were compounded and seasoned so as to
furnish the variety desirable to Wallachiall palates.
Red pepper alone appeared to be a common ingredi-
ent. The cook, who was also host, scullion, and dispen-
ser of raki, judging from his overgrown fonn and care-
less, sensual expression, would have regarded death
itself as merely
" • • • A card of invitation
To sup with all th~ saints ODhigh."

I ordered a bowl to be filled from onc of the kettles;


and its contents, a doubtful compromise between w-lidi·
234 noUltANIA.

ty and fluidity, with a piece of Spartan bread, composed


my evening meal. The luxury of a bed I did not an-
ticipate for weeks to come, and had despaired of finding
a room or shelter of ally kind, when a Greek merchant
from Galatz generously offered to share his chamber
with mc. W e "isitcd a neighbo ring khan, where pipes
and coffee were served d la Turque. A number of W al-
b ells of the better class had called in to talk over the
events of the day_ From the recent affairs of Ka1afat
and Sil istria the conversation turned to the earlier wars
of the Christians aDd the Turks. The W allachs do not
regard themselves as a conquered people, and of late
circumstances have tended greatly to mitigate their
ancient hatred of the Turks. The cruel burdens im-
posed upon them by the R ussians, tbe treacherous
character of the Austrians, and the remoteness of the
Gallic and I talian races, with w])ich the Daco-Romans
would natu rally sympathize, have drawn them nearer
to the Osmanlis. They prefer remai ning subjects of
the Padishah to obeyi ng a IIal)sbu rg or a Romanoff,
especially as their subjection to the formcl' is nominal,
imposing upon them merely the payment of a small
annual tribute. My fri end kindly interpreted for me.
W e listened long to thrilling incidents and heroic adven-
tures pertaining to the border land of the Christian and
the Turk. Their earnest recitals, embracing the truth
of history and fresh with patriotism and local interest,
were now and then interspcrscd with ddi1ld4,orpopular
It. NIGHT RIDE IN lWOllANIA. 235

songs. 111e latter were fragrant with the uroma of


poetry that springs from the heart, and possessed the
enthusiastic vigor and untamed force whieh charac-
terize the infant prodnctions of a liberty-loving people.
Both songs and recitals related principally to famous
Wallach chiefs of earlier times and the bold hyduks
of the mountains, who often taught the Moslems man-
ners by nailing their turbans fast to their heads.
The law treats the hyduks as brigands, but the people
forgive, and often glorify the!n. 'Vhy not 1 have they
not always attacked the enemies of the common coun-
try 1 Though they murdered the Turk and the Tartar
and robbed the insolent Boyard, they wcre none the less
faithful Christians, in the estimation of the people, and
were always mindful of the poor.
One of the mountain bandits having been UI'rested
and brought before the Cadi, the latter said to him,
"Tell me where thy treasures arc concealed, and thy
l ife shall be spared."
"I have concealed them/' replied the robber, dis-
dainfully, "in such a manner that neither thou nor
thine will ever enjoy them. I have hid them in the
hollows of trees, where the poor ollly will find them."
Another hyduk was taken before a paeha of Con-
stantinople. When asked how many Christians he had
slain, he answered boldly:
" 1 1 I have never in my life ca.used the death of a
single Christian; but I have shed the blood of many
236 ROUllASlA..

an infidel. When I fell in with a rich Christian I


asked him only to divide with me. If he had two
horses I kept one and left him the other. If he had
twenty piastres I gave him back ten j but when I met
a Turk, I took his head aud left his body."
The Dllco-Romans are l)roud of having preserved
their Christian faith. Neither the threats nor the pro-
mises of lhe Turks bave induced them to apostatize.
In thei r long conflict with Islamism, however, the hu-
miliation of defeat has not unfrcquently been followed
by the palm of martyrdom. One of the prince&, Con-
stantine Brancovano, submitted to the most cruel
agonies rather than renounce his faith. A popular
doi"na,. relates his hcroic conduct j and Daco-Romans,
young and old, love to hear the story of his death.
" Aftcr a bloody conflict, Braneovano was taken pri-
soner, with his three SOIlS . They were embarked on
board of fa ship, and transported to a fortress on the
banks of the Dosphorus.
" 'Const!mtine llrancovano,' said the paeha before
whom be was brought, , if thou would'st save the Jives
of thy children, become a lIussuiman.'
" , Infidel!' responded the l)rinee, with disdain;
'thou canst murder my chi ldren, but I shall never
renounce the faith of my fathers. Do as thou wilt.'
"The furiOliS pacha sent for two black executioners.
They took the eldl'St of the sensof Constantine, asweetand
delicate child, seated him upon astool, and cntoft'bi8 bead.
!i
!!


•-
A NIGIIT mOE IS RODMANIA. 237

" The futher, unable to snppress a sigh of anguish


from his wounded heart, cried, '0 Lord, thy will be
done.' The seeoud child was brought forward, his
full eyes bathed with tears, and long auburn locks
floating round his neck. The executioner severed bis
head from his body.
"Brancovano sighed a second time, and from his pale
lips escaped the same words of resignation. The pacha
was moved by such constancy. A sentiment of pity
was wakened in his heart.
", Brancovano,' said the latter to him, 'thou hadst
three sons, tholl hast now but one; wilt thou save
him ~'
'" God is great!' responded the wretched father.
' I was born a Rouman and a Christian; I wish to die a
Christian.' Then turning to the only child which re-
mained to him, he said:
", Do not weep, my dear boy; do not deprive me of
my remaining strength. Die with thy faith, and hea-
ven shall be thy heritage.'
"The paeha gave the fatal signul, and the child's
head dro})ped f rom his shoulders.
" ' Lord, thy will be done,' murmured Brancovano.
"His vision darkened; his heart was ready to break j
then he excluimed-
" , .May my curse, 0 Turks, fall for ever npon your
heads! May you be swept fl'Om the earth like the
clouds that are dissipated by tLe winds! May you die
238 ROUllANlA .

without a child ncar to close your eyes, and rot upon


the soil without sepulture !'
" H e spoke, and his head fell under the same sword
that had slain his three sons."
At a late hour we returned to the chamber of my
H ellenic friend. H e p rofessed himself highly delighted
to extend hospitality to a citizen of the great Republic,
proposed toasts innumerable to the memory of W ash-
ington, and exhausted his French lexicon in praise of
our institutions; but when I set out the following day
for Silistria, he scarcely obj ected to my paying roundly
for his ostentatious hospitality. That is the way with
the Greeks.
o j}fendax GrOJCia!
Finding it impossible to obtain a caMdza to convey
me to the D anube, I bargained for a ride with a. J ew
who was going down to the landing with a load of
Kalerasc~e apples. H e promised to be ready at ten
o'clock, and was careful to demand his piastres in ad-
vance, But hour after hour rolled away, and the J ew
fretted and qmuTelled, and piled apples upon his m i-
serable cart, until there was no place left for a seat I
had determined to set out on foot and leave my bag-
gage with the Israelite, when Colonel Bent drove up
from Bukal'est. I had often met him in Bukarest, H e
was en rouk for Constantinople, with dispatches from
Orner P acha, and offered me a seat in his covered
wagon, A llew relay d horses was obtained at the
A .NIGHT RIDE IN ROUMA.NIA. 239

post-bou.se, and an hour 1ater we stood on the 1eft bank


of the Danube. A dh"ision of Turkish troops was
engaged in erecting a tete d u p<mt opposite Silistria,
and awkward barges fined with tho Nizam were cross"
ing to reinforce the anny of Acbmct Paths.
CHAPTER X.

SILI STRI A.

"Unfading their fame,


As their sacrifice great,
Who leave a good trade
To take care of the state."

Ax old Turkish boatman, the vcry picture of Charon,


ferri ed me across the Danube for a few paras, and
set me down on the narrow strand of Silistria. A half·
dozen houses werc scattered along the sandy shore, but
the city appeared to be sunk below the Jevel of its wall,
a few tall minarets alone beillg visible. Colonel Bent
hastened on in the first aruba that could be obtained.
H is dragoman informed me that Silistria contained
neither a hotel nor lodgiuh"S of any kind kept by a
Christian . At the promi se of a couplc of p iastres, a
greasy caw(UI shouldered my carpet-bags, and led tllO
way to a Turkish khan. A few Ottom;l1l soldiers we re
leaning idly on their mnskets at the gate through which
we p assed. I t seemed as if the genius of death reigned
within those solitary walls. Nothing save the dese rt,
the wil de rn es~ , and the calm ocean, is so silent as a
Turkish city. There is 110 raltliflg of carriages or tramp
SILISTlUA. 2<1

of hurried feet j there arc no brawling voices; mell,


silent men, in the grave costume of tllC Orientals, and
women veiled from the sight of the most inquisitive
eye, glide nlong tllC Darrow streets and stony lallcs,
more like ghosts than human beings.
The khan, where a board was promised me for a
couch, contained but a single square room, with mats
for squatting Turks, racks for chibouques, and shelves
fo r narg il ehs and t1lC diminutive cups in which coffcc
was served by a bustl ing little cah1Jiilji. F or a guide
I employed .a sIeck, good-natured MusslIlman, who, in
the comprehensive Im1guage of the Oricntals, "knew
everything!' Mustapha was shaven as to his hcad,
wore his beard after the manner of the Osmanlis, and
gloried in a gi rdle glittering with bright weapons. lIe
slept at my fe et on the hard boards, drank black coffee,
and ate fiery dishes of p apr£ka at my expense, having
no objection to my piMtl'es, 110wever mnch he may
have hated me in his henrt as a Christian.
Silistria, the ch ief city of the &ndjae of Silistria, 11as
a population of about t wenty thousand souls. It is sur-
rounded by II. wall and f088e, the former varying from
fifteen to twenty feet in height, and mounted, at l)roper
intervals, with saucy cannon, Therc is no "distrcssillg
regularity" of streets. In the opcn places winged aml
fonr-footed can1ivora may often be seen dismembering
an nnforhmatc (Ionkey, 01' othcr Ilnimal that. hili'< 11i('(1
by the way. In Turkish cities fi lth , and mud-and-dust,
it
242 ROUMAN LI..

her tw in sis ter, "most do congregate." There is Ilot a


painted honse in Silistria, and, with the exception of
the mosques, but two stntcturc8 more than a single
story in height. One of these is the residence of the
paehn; the other the half·finished Greek Church, the
erection of which the R ussians began while in possession
of the city, fro m 182{l to 1833. In the end towards the
Arab Tabia I counted where twenty cannon-balls }lad
struck and done good execution. The Russians were
compelled to batter down the work of their own hands.
Th at is typical of Russian-of European policy. Ab-
sol utists Uf C blinded: they plan and work merely for
to-day, und build not upon strong and permanent bases.
The tyrants of OUf generation urc doomed to roll tbe
stone of Sisyphus : would that tllCY had also to grasp
after the delusive cup of Tantalus!
The low cabins of Silistria are surrounded by little
court-yards; and walking through the streets is passing
between two continuous, windowless walls. These
wicker-walls-for such is their construction in the Da-
nubian cities--are so well plastered, intemaUy nnd
externally, as to defy the eye of the euriolls howndji on
the 'lui 'Vive for the veiled beauties within. Thc onc
great object for which Mussulmans appear to live, is
to conceal their women from th e inquiri ng eyes of
men.
The manner of building these low Dlllgnrian houses
IS unI'lue. F our Foots are driven into the earth,
SILlSTItJA. 243

and joined by means of cross-pieces, between which are


interwoven the pliant twigs of the willow. The frame-
work is done by the awkward native carpenters after
the posts arc driven into the earth, and not while they
are lying on the ground. The low roof is tiled. A.
coating of clay, mixed with animal manme, is applied
outside, and on the inside a plastic material affords a
hard wall which can be whitewashed or ornamented
with the wretched daubs in which the artists of the
gentler sex sometimes indulge. F or the floor tlley elU-
ploy a p iece of the soil gi ven by Allah to be inhabited
by his child ren.
Acres of such habitations may be swept away in a
few minutes by fire; and hence the immense contlagra-
tions which so often occur in the l arge Tur'kish cities.
They are, however, the b est structures to withstand a
sICge. I did not see a b ouse that had not been perfo-
rated by olle or more cannon-balls; but they had merely
passed through tbe wicker-walls, leaving small round
holes, tbe same as when bullets are fired through a glass
window. It was only where a bomb-shcll had burnt,
that great inj\lry had been done. The Russians appear
to have aimed l)articlllarly at the fi\-e mosques of Silis-
tria, whose tall minarets were excellent targets. S110t
and shell had made cmiotls work with those barn-like
edifices. ~

It is astonishing that seventy thousand balls and


bomb-shells should have been fired into a city like
24:;1 ROUMANIA.

Silistria without producing more damage than a few


Bulgarian masons could repair in a short time. There
was also but a small loss of life in the garrison
and among the inhabitants. The general rule tlmt it
requires nearly ten thousand discharges t{l put one of
the enemy It()r8 du combat was more than true of the
Russians, and less than true of the Turldsh and Arab
t roops who defended Silistria during an eventful siege
of thirty-nine days. In vain did Paskiewitch attempt
to unlock the gates of Silistria with a golden key.
By the side of one of the ruined mosques lies MU888
Pacha, who fell during the siege when about to engage
in the morning-prayer. His successor was an arrant
coward, and took refuge in one of the subterranean
chambers, where most of the inhabitants repaired fol'
safety. In the course of a few days his hair became
snow-white through fear and mental anguish. Butler,
who also fell during th e siege, was buried in the court·
yard of a Greek church. The Bishop of Silistria wonld
not at first permit the desecration of what the orthodox
Greeks call h oly ground, by the dust of an English.
man, but was obliged to yield to the order of the
pacha.
Let justicc be donc to the true defenders of SHistri&.
The English claim that tllC exertions of Butler and Nay-
smitb alone saved the city from falling in to the hands
of the Russians. Snch was not the case. The first
place of hon{lr belongs to Grueh, a brave PnlssiBn, who
SILlSTRlA. 245

unfortunately died at Rnstchuk one month after the


repulse of the Russians before the outworks of Silistria.
Butler and N aysmith were Indian officers, good in hand-
to-hand oonfiiet, but nothing more. Neither of them
made any pretensions to skill in engineering, and both
were unpopular with the inhabitants of Silistria, as :llso
among the defenders of the Arab Tabia. Grach was
an excellent engineer; to him was givcn the charge of
repairing the breaches effected by the Russians, and to
11im, more than anyone else, weN tile Turks indebted
for the preservation of Silistria.
A strong garrison was still stationed in the city, and
there was great fear that the dreaded .J£oskos, n.s they
called the Russians, wOllld retllnl.
I had seen everything worthy of attention in ding)',
battered Silistria. Anxious to study the rural life of
the Turks, and still more anxiOllS to experience the
Oriental life of Stamboul and Grand Cairo, I resolved
to avail myself of the first opportunity to depart.
Terzin Bashf, a little Hungarian tailor with whom I
had become acquainted through Mustal)ha, conducted
me to Ibrahim Pacha, the governor of Silistria. His
Eltcellency was reclining in the aelamlik, or male
apartment, making, with a company of grave MnSl>nl-
mans, the delicious kief. Our entrance scarcely intel'-
MIpted tlwir placid int.oxication. Tcrzin meckly slipped
off his shoes in the presence of the paeha, who, in his
provincc, is the representative of the tlllgnst Abdul


246 ROUlIANI,\.

Mcdjid, OT, as the faithfnl delight to call the Sultan,


"The Ulllmu:zled Lion, and Proud Tamer of Infidels."
The pachas of the different provinces and cities are ap-
pointed by the Padishah, and to him alone are they
answerable. In Turkey, posts of honor and profit, like
the governorships, arc given to those who offer most
piastres for them, and nrc usually continued on the
allnllal payment of a stipulated sum, although the prin-
cipal occupation of the pacbas is "to suck the very
vitals of their provinces." 11lCY control the revenue,
command the military force, and exercise criminal
jurisdiction in their respective governments, but not·
withstanding these powers arc called" statues of glass"
by the Turks, and can be deposed and punished at the
will of the Sultan.
I judged Ibrahim Paella to be a man of the most
p rofolUld incapacity. In a country where hereditary
aristocracy has no existence, and where slaves become
Grand Viziers, the highest offiees are of'tcn administered
by persons taken from the very dregs of society. The
traveller occasionally has the opportunity of enjoying
the hospitality of these officials, who, however, cannot
be esteemed, and must be looked upon with that feeling
of mingled regard and pity whieh is excited by the
simplicity and goodness of very benevolent but at the
same time very illiterate old womell.
Ibrahim Paeha gave one twitch of his superior
ocular muscles, regarded me for a moment, and then


SII.ISTRIA. 2<7

directed that I should be seated. It was not my :first


interview with a paclw., and I did not stop to enjoy the
proffered pipe and coffee.
"What docs the howadji desire 1" inquired the
pacha.
"The howadji, 0 Ibrahim Paeha! desires llCnnis·
sion from your Excellency to travel through Bulgaria
on his way to Stamboul," replied Temn Baslli. The
governor gave another twitch of his ocular muscles,
and waved his hand towards the police·office, where I
was to procure the u sA-cry, or Turkish passport.
The office of the police bore a close resemblance to
a tailor's shop, the officers and scribes all seated cross·
legged upon mats and low divans.
My original purpose had been to proeood from
Silistria to SchumlR, cross the range of the Balkans and
reach Stamboul by Adrianoplc, the second city of Euro 4
pean Turkey. But there was no Turkish post between
Silistria and Schllmla, and I could find neither horses
nor a Tartar to act as guide. Terzin Bash:i said that
I might possibly procure an arabi, or Turkish carriage,
at a khan in the city, and we started off to see what
could be done. The keeper of the khan, a dark, thiu4
visaged Turk, with deeIH>unken eyes, informed us that
he could furnish the desired conveyance to Varna, but
in consideration of the length of the rou te, Ule escort
necessary to kccp off the vagrant klephts and bashi4
bllZoub, and inmllncrablo pedIs by the way, he de 4


248 ROUKANU.

manded tbrec hundred piastres. I finally brought him


down to two hundred IUld twenty-five piastres, about
ten dollars of our money. We were to start the next
morning; the escort was to be strong, the horses superb,
and the araba the best of the kind.
Our bargaining had been carried on in a group of
silent smoke-consumers.
A collection of the pipes of a.ll nations would give
the best possible idea of national characteristics. The
calumet of the American Indians, ornamented with
feathers and porcupine quills, and made to be smoked
by a whole tribe, indicates a certain advance of th e
social state, but gives no idea of individuality. The
universal pipe of the Yankee nation, short, cheap, and
thoroughly practical, is a decided indication of progress.
The American must smoke as he runs and reads, else
he would not get time to smoke at all~eamestnese and
activity beillg chief elements of his character. 'l11C
sharp, money-getting American physiognomy Booms, in
fact, hardly coml)lete without the accompanimcnt of a
pipe or a cigar directed towards one of the wandering
planets.
TIle more cumbrous article used by the Englisll
denotes a spirit that does not like to' be small in smoke,
li teral or symbolical. TIIC pipe en boue of the French,
with its pcnclumt forward, like the French military cap,
gives us an idea of the future, but is most liable to be
ruink by the force of opposing Qbetacles, as is the case


SILISTRIA. 249

with all schemes floating in the undefined limbo of


French politics. The Gennan H ee}'sel.aum, n cross
between tllO Teian lute and 1\ polypus, has 1\ smack of
the Oriental mingled with Occidental habits and
usages.
One lingers before the windows of a Viennese Fa7nik
as he would in a gallery of antiques, for on those huge
Jleer8ehaum bowls tllO ennning ])ands of artists have
toiled to reproduce what was most wonderful in the
smoky myths of the Greeks, from the funeral games
round the tomb of Patrocills to the lesser glories deline-
ated on Achilles' shield. Still tile smoking Dutc1mum
is a working Dutchman. TIe SnSI)cnds his pil)e 80 as
not to interfere with locomotion or manipulation.
'Vithont tobacco-smoke we should not llave the meta-
physical ravings and the ontological vagaries of the
Tcutonics.
The pipes become longer and more cumbrous as onc
penetrates further in the cast of Europe. It was in the
family of a TIullgarian Count that I first learned to
appreciate the Turkish chibouque charged with fragrant
latakieh. French ci vilization has done somcthing ill
the way of reducing the folds of the Ottoman turban, in
diminishing the aml)ler parts of the baggy pantaloons
in which the true Mnssnlman delights, and in displacing
tho cumbrous, all-concealing veil by the" wo,·en air"
that reveals the flushing tints and rich outlinC8 of Cir-
cnssian beauty, but the Turks will never become R pro-
11*
250 ltOU~ANIA.

gressh·c people until their pil>cS arc reduced from the


dimeru;ions ot' feet to those of inches.
Smoking is par excellence the peculiar institution of
the Ottomans. The infl uence of tiw latakieh seems to
have p enetrated their very souls, and lends a hazy,
dreamy outline to all the ma nifesta tions of their outward
life. The genuine Turk, dressed like a fillibustcr, enjoys
his long chibouque or snaky nargilch from mom to eve,
with the g ra,'ity of an aldennan, and the glowing visions
of the great-eyed Orient appear ever to float before his
mental vision as be yields himself up to tJleir perennial
charm.
I wus, indeed, greatly amused to see how the Turks,
on their own soil, and uncorrupted by foreign tastes,
persevere in tile usc of tobacco. At college, my room-
mate persisted in going to sleep every night with an
ignited eigar between his teeth. The Dutch pilot who
took ns into Rotterdam, after

"A two wooks' tipay timG GU cold salt water merely,"

must have descended from the W outer V:m Twillerwho


smoked away the embarrassments attending the early
settlelJ1ent of New York, although at the time, his pisca-
torial face, the fishy expression about his eyes, and two
short anns, moving precisely as a dolphin moves its
pectoral fins, led me more than once to cast my eyes
lmder his long.tailed coat in search of a like candal
appendage, and Fmggegled tllut he migllt havc had an
SII.ISTRIA. 251

existence in thnt remote age whcn, according to Vathck,


H ollund was all water, and the ancestors of the present
inhabitants all fish. Not every wllerc, as in the canals
of Rotterdam, can one behold sailors mounting the rig-
ging of lofty ships, and handling tllC sails with pipes in
their months. When, at the inn of th e Three Lions in
Semlin, I saw my IIuugarian neighbor .complacently
shaving 1limself, with n huge Meerschaum suspended
from his teeth, I verily thought the Mont-Blanc of
fumil:ory achievements attained ; but stranger experi.
enees were in store for me among the Orientals. The
chiboukdji, or pipe-bearer, takes the first rank among
the servants of eYcry Tudcish grandee. Pipe-cleaners
peramhulat e the streets of Turkish citics, and announce
their craft after the manner of charcoal-men with liS.
Turkish troops often go into action with their long pipes
lashed upon their knapsacks, and at the close of the
daily fasts of the Ramazan, the chibonque takes the pre-
cedence of food and water.
It was on a mild autumnal evening that I rode out
in company with an Italian surgeon in the Turkish ser-
vice, to visit the celebrated outpost of Arab Tabia. I
had spent the day with my friend in attending the in-
valids at the different hospitals, crowded to excess with
the sick and woundcd. As we passed through the
land-gate of the city I noticed, in a nook of the wall
near uy, a company of Turkish troo})S l)iollSly engaged
in the cvelllllg prnyer. They had carefully gone
252
through tho requisite ablutions, and having spread
mats and garments on the earth in the direction of
Mecca, performed the impressive dc\'otiolls which cha-
racterize the followers of Mohammed. There was the
absorption peculiar to the Otwmnn worship of to-day,
and not the fervor of the J aniSSfAries kneeling in solid
squadrons, shouting AUah hou! as they rushed into
the combat, and with an ent!lIlsiasm unknown to the
IcS!! devout Nizam, ovcrrlllll>,ing province after province,
with the sword ill oue har,d and the K oran in the other.
An officer ll))peared to lead, and t hey pcrfonned their
prostrations and semi-prostrations as if they had been
accustomed to press shoulder to shoulder into the COIl-
flict..
A ride of a few minutes b rought us to the base of
the hill Oil the crest of which the Arab Tabia is situ-
ated, The blufty bank of the Danube is here inter-
rupted fo r ft. distance of several miles, the hills, or
hratel' the line of elevated rid~es, which disappear ill Il
platean ilt the southward and westward, sweeping
around Silistria in the form of an Ilmphitheatrc, 'Vhat
would otherwise be a continuous but elevated plain, is
broken into scveral ridges by defiles that radiate back
into the country a diflhmce of many miles. On the
crests of the ridges, thus tJlrown into fl semi-circle, are
situated the five out-posts of Silistria, the two nearest
the river, na.mely, the one above and the other below
'Silistria, being of less importance than the three others,
SILtSTIU.\ . 253

the Arab Tahin nt the south-cnst, the Medj idic, nearly


south from the city, and a smaller fortification between
them. The Medjidie appeared to be the only one of the
out·works worthy the name of a fort.
The hill-side, fonn erly covered with fields and vine-
yards, had been ploughed by cannon halls, and was
thickly strown with the fragments of exploded bombs.
The Russians approached Silistria from the south·cast,
and 80 puny was the obstacle in their way, that an ol"a-
tor in the H ouse of Commons was entirely correct in
saying: "The fil"i!t wave of that remarkable invasion
was scattered into foam befon;) the out-wOI'ks of a fifth-
rate fortress.!)
I shall never be able to comprehend the Russian
defeat at Silistria. The Arah Tabia, a mere out-work,
simply an earth fortification, was defended by no more
than six guns. Never was there offered a better posi-
tion for bombarding a city than from the plateau which
stretches away from the Tabia, and affords aeommand-
iug point of rare advantage, an indispensable acquisi.
tion in the successful carrying on of a. siege. Y ct
Paskiewiteh Willi foil ed, and lost the flower of his offi-
cel"i!, with fineelL thollsand men, before beating a.
retreat.
I examined every inch of ground with the grcatest
care. There were the mines laid by Schildcrs, and
sprung precisely at the moment to create dreadful
havoc among his own troops; there were the long

254 ROUKANIA.

trenches by which the enemy thought 10 approach near


the Tahia, hut were so often foiled by the watchCul
Arabs with in j there were the hard-trodden spots of
hand-to-hand conflicta in which the fierce Arnanta had
cut to pieces whole squadrons with their terrible y.
tagbansj and there, 0 horrid sight! were the pits
into which the thousands slain had boon promiscu-
ously tbrown. A div:.sion of Turkish troops, which
llad been engaged in extending and repairing the for-
tification, slowly descended from the Tabia, and witll
beating dnlm and glittering bayonet, marched up the
declivity of the Mcdjidie.
The extCllded view from the Arab Tabia is not
uninteresting. At the southward and eastward, be-
yond the lllain on which the Russians operated, are
the forest-clad hills of Bulgaria. At the northward
flows old Daunbins as proudly 88 in the days when
Roman legions were encamped along his hanb; while
beyond stretches away, farther than the eye can reach,
the low plain of ' Vallachia, once the highway of noma-
dic nations pressing towards the Occident, but in later
times thc haUIe-ground of empires struggling for the
mastcry of the world.
After our return to Silistria I dined ala TurqtU with
my ltaJian fri cnd in an old Turkish house 8118igned
for Ilis quarters by thc P aeha. The meal consisted of
numerous dishes prepared in genuine Turkish style by
a soldier-servant, the names of which arc unimportaot,
SI Ll STRIA. 255

the ingredients of which I never knew, saVe those of


th e rice pillajf, the crowning glory of every Turkish
feast. W e were joined by another I tal ian surgeon,
also ill the sel'vice of the Sultan. After dinner pipes
and coffee were brought in, but more pleasing to me
than the dainty morsels of the Turk ish oumne, the fra-
g rant latakieh, or the aromatic Mocha, were the racy
anecdotes of T urkish life, and the imbroglios of adven-
ture with which, reclining upon the divan, we beguiled
the long hours. M y companions were political exiles.
They spoke feelingly, almost tearfully, of their loved
Italy, of her fair h ills and poet-sung skies, and seemed
to bemoan
, the cruel fate which had exiled them from
their home on the yellow Tiber to the inhospitable
banks of Ole D anube.
At a late hour they sallied out to accompany me to
the lodgings of Terzin Bashi. Gas was never dreamed
of in a Turkish city; the streets are without names;
the houses without numbers. Every persoll who ven-
tures out after dark must carry a pap er lantern, or incur
the risk of being arrested by the police and kept in
cnstody until morning. An English ambassador at
Constantinople, not Stratford de Redcliffe, occasionally
ventured abroad incognito in the dark. I n one of his
nocturnal saliies without the customary light, he fell
into the hands of the police; and, as they coul(1 not
distinguish an English lord from an ordillary Frank
traveller, was, in spite of all his protestatioll". put in the
250 ROUl:IANIA.

lock.up to sleep with rogues and vagabonds. The


following morning the authorities were shocked at
having caged a British lion. With the 11f!ual tact of the
Ottomans in getting out of difficulties, they hastily sum-
moned the largest Turkish band in Pera, formed shollow
square for his Excellency, and persisted in marching
him down to his Palace through crowds of wondering
Turks, and amid the frenzied dieeonance which a Turkish
band alone can produce.
It was a night of Bulgaro-Egyptian darkness. Now
and then a sleepy watchman whose girdle glistened with
weapons would stop lIS for a moment, and the wolfish
dogs over which we stumbled in the street f01l0wOO DS
with their flashing eyes and ceaseless barking.
We were soon lost in the intemlinable labyrinth of
Silistria, and wandered about a long time without being
able to find Terzin Bashi, or even the house from which
we had started. Some one at last conducted us to the
lodgings of the little tailor. My friend bade me buena
Mtte. Tenin lived in an Anncnian family, who, with
characteristic inhospitality, insisted that I should not
spend the night under their roof, as in their l)ecldior
godliness, they would not sleep with a heretic believing
in the divinity of CURIST and the eternal punishment
of sins.
The Bashi-may the blessing of Allah rest upon him
and all hOliest tailors I-then conducted me to his littlo
business sanctum in another part of the city. On his
SILISTRIA. 251
platform as a. couch, and his gOOSQ for a pillow, I soon
fell asleep, dreaming of klephts, ficas, and especially
of the luxuriOlls arabi in which I was to be sus-
pended between heaven and earth on the following
day.
At this point of my narrative it is l)roper to allude
more fully to the Turkish service and to my own con-
nection wi II tile Ottoman army. On my arrival at
Bukarest, the lastof August, I immediately called upon
the English Consul General to place myself under his
protection, tllere bcing no American Agent in the
Principalities. At his house I met Muza Pacha, an
English officer who bad greatly distinguished himself
in Southenl Africa, and held the rank of a general ill
Omer Paella's Staff. He desired me to accept of Ule
position of a surgeon in the Turkish Army, physicians
being at that time in great demand. A few days after-
wards we called upon Omer Paeha, who also requested
that I should remain. An order was given me to join
a regiment in the camp outside the city barrier, but my
attention, during a stay of six weeks, was confined
almost entirely to the inmates of the hospitals and a
few Russian prisoners. The enemy had retreated, so
that there was no opportunity for ncti ve field service
short of the Crimea. For a time the cholera raged
fearfully in the anny. A number of the Boyard
palaces were converted into hospitals, but in spite of all
our efforts, 4000 men were swept away by the frightful
259 ROUXANIA.

disease. Icc applied externally and internally W88


generally found to be the most efficacious remedy.
r have II. high opinion of the bravery and the patient
endurance of the Turkish troops. Like the Ruwans
they need only to be well otticcrcd to make most efficient
soldiers. A narrow spot was pointed out to me in the
.A.rnb Tabia. where it was necessary that a single person
should be COllstantly exposed to Ule fire of the enemy.
The position was as fatal as death, but no sooner had
one occupant fanen, than anotJlC r leaped into the place,
as if emulous of his companion'sfatc. In passive obedi-
cnce, however, the Turks do not surpass the RUSRjan8
A Muscovite officer who had boosted before a company
of guests that his soldiers would obey any order he might
give, commanded a number of them to march directly
over a lony precipice: and they would have done 80 to
a man had not his voice chcckNl them at the last
moment.
The O ttoman service offers but few inducementa to
foreignel's. '1.1IC Turks are slow to perceive merit, and
still slower to reward it. "T()-moN'QUJ" ill conatantly
upon tJICir I ips, while the society of eyen the first officcl"8
cannot be agreeable to a cu1ti\'atcu person, or one who is
accustomed even to the decencies of life.
W e hear much of foreigners i n the Ottoman service,
yet but few of them acquire positiolls of importance.
Their connection with the army is nomina], mtJler than
actual. nlC gradations of rank are multiplied in a
P It 1
sn.ISTRl A. 259
manner very con venient for amateu r warriors, who arc
ambitious to b ecome l ions in the clubs of London and
P aris by campaigning a few weeks along the Danube
or in Asia. The lIusaulman still l ooks witll contempt
upon the Giaour. The Turkish soldier will not be led
into action by an officer who has to give his orders
through an interpreter. It is generally the Mussulman
biJniJa8hi& and kai'l1Ul1alrf1;8 who head the columns.
Yet I was surprised at the numb er ofpolitiealexiles
in the Turkish service. There were rough Tartars, cut-
throat I talians, and numberless adventurers who seemed
to subsist upon their hatred to R uss ia. One day a P ole
presented himself, who, although very lame, had walked
a distance of two hun dred miles merely for an opportu-
nity to :light the enemies of his country. A t the head
quarters of M nza P aeha I met Baron Z , a young
Hungarian nobleman, whose remarkable experiences
greatly interested me. H is father had been so long
imprisoned for political reasons and subjected to such
barbarous treatment, that when released he was a dri vel ~
ling, white-haired idiot. The sons swore revenge. On
the breaking out of the H ungarlan insurrection every
one of them enlisted, wld fought the Austrians as the
enemies of their liberty and the murderers of their father.
A t the close of the war the Emperor spared the life of
the young Baron in consideration of his youth, but exiled
h im from bis country and confiscated the estates or the
family . The cavalier took refuge in Bavaria, but soon
260 ROUKANIA.

after quarrelled with a government official, and was


obliged to leave the kingdom. After s short stay in
Switzerland, he ventured to revisit Hungary in disguise,
and even spent a few days with the rcmnant of his
family. In the beginning of the Russo-Turkish war,
Servia opened a promising field for the Baron. The
Prince employed him to organize a large force ofeaval-
'y, but the enterprise was speedily abandoned on
account of the remonstrances of the Western Powers,
who sus.pectcd Russian interference. An intrigue at
Belgrade occasioned a personal affair between the Baron
and the Austrian consul, and it became nccC88aJ'Y ((II"
him to seek his fortunes elsewhere. He embarked
sccretly on board a small Turkish vessel for the Jower
Danube, but was wrecked on tIte way, and l08t every-
tlling except his dress and well-battered sword. The
Baron 11M walked the entire distance from Kalafat.
I gave him a shirt, a luxury he had not enjoyed in many
weeks, and shared my pocket-money with him: the
poor fellow had almost forgotten the color of ducats.
One of my associates in Bukarest was an intelligent
Gennan surgeon, known as "TIle Hakeem." lie also
had served in the Hungarian war. Having at its close
emigrated into Turkey with Kossuth, and enlisted as a
surgeon, he had, for a number of year!!, followed the for-
tunes of Orner Paeha. The Hakeem was a noble fellow.
I remember he nsed to show me a curious memento of
the friends from whom he had boon exiled. He had
SI(.ISTIUA. 261
transplanted a number of hairs from their heads to his
delicate arm, where they appeared t~ flourish as well as
upon the cranial soil.
I was walking one evening in the garden of Tchis-
medjiou in company with tIlC Hakeem, when fortunately
we met Iskender Bey, attended by two servants and a
pipe-bearer. 'Ve were introduced, and had a long con-
versation relati ve to the wa.t and his own remarkable
life. The Bey, now a Colonel of the Turkish cavalry,
is, next to Olller Pacha, the most important personage
who took part in the Danubian campaign. The Rus·
sians will remember him, for he has slain his hecatombs.
He is abont fifty years of age, of medium size, but
powerful organization, with a beard and hair of glossy
blackness, and a pair of eyes capable of sending out
lightning glances from beneath their overhallging

1rows. His uniform WaB splendid, if not gaudy, and
as we walked along IImong the aite of Bukarest who
had assembled to enjoy the music and tIle 10\'elicst of
evenings, people would tum round, stare at my compa-
nion as if he had been an emperor, and whisper to each
other, "There goes Iskender Bey." TIc is of Tartar
origin and a Mussulman by birtll, his father havill~
emigrated to the Crimea, where our hero was born and
inherited the title of a Connt, as well as an estate ill
Bessarabia.
Expelled from the Crimea while a mere youth for
political reasons, Iskender Bey became a sworn enemy
262 ROUMA1UA.

of Russia, and in the character of a chivalric soldier, has


personified in his tra'lcls the ' Vandcring Jew, having
taken IJart in almost all the remarkable wars of the last
thirty years. He was in Spain during the Carlist war,
in Portugal du ring her revolutionary stn lgglcs, and left
the Peninsula decked with no less tllan eleven orders.
In 1836 our knight eITant was at the siege of Herat in
Central Asia; the Opium war called rum to the Flowery
Empire, and he especially distinguished himself at Can-
ton. After the tennination of the Chinese war, lie
found his way to Algiers, and took part in most of the
engagements with Abd-cl-Xadcr. !skender then left the
French service, and the year 1848 found him in Hun-
gary under Bern, his patron and idol. The sorrowful
events of '49 drove both of them to Turkey, with fifteen
thousand others. He at once entered the :' rurk:ish ser-
vice, and under Omer Pacha took part in the expedi-
tions against the Montenegrins and Bosnians. A gal-
lant victory terminated the last-mentioned campaign,
for which he rcceived the thanks of the Sultan and
the r(ll)k of a Pacha. Austria Ilnd Russia protested,
and the Bey voluntarily resigned his position. His
services at Kalnfat arc well k nown . The Cossacks
shudder at the mention of his name. After the affair
I)f Silistria he hun g like a consuming fiend upon their
retreating squadrons, and a few days before I met him,
had returned from a daring and successful reconnoissance
along tJle Pnltli. Of the Bey's gallant cond uct at
SlLISTRIA. 263

Eupatoria., and his being wonnded III baUle by a per-


sonal enemy, the reader is doubtless well aware. He
speaks French like a Parisian. Besides his wandcrings

in tJw Old World, !skender Bey also informed me that
he Jlad trnvelled extensively in the United States and
the W est Indies. It marks a day in one's life to meet
with the hero of so many battlcs.
At Bukarest I also found one of my countrymen,
Major Burr Porter, of New Jersey, who enjoyed the
confidence of Omer Paeha. He attained the rank of
bimbashi, and at the elose of the war was honored witll
a decoration for his services.
The Turks love the sword, but have a holy horror
of the scalpel. It is a precept of the Koran that the
human body shall not be opened, even though it eou-
tain a jewel. For several years after the establish·
ment of the Medical College in Constantinople, the
Sultan Mahmoud was Obliged to procure Christian
subjects for dissection through the Austrian Miuis-
Ie"
The Mussulman hakeemsdividc all diseases into two
classes-nervous affections of the face and tllOse of an
erysipelatous character; and secondly, all maladies not
inclnded in the above. Some of the Emirs profess to
cure the former by means of channs, incantations, and
mysterious remedies, of which they claim the monopoly.
When the cure is not effected, howevcr, they insist that
it is not from thc illefficacy of the melitis employed, but
264 ROUAl.A.NIA.

from the fact that the discase does not belong to the
class in question.
P oujulat relates an incident which came under his
observation i n the slave·market in Constantinople and
illustrates the occasional cruelty of the Turks in the
cmployment of remedial agents :-
A female Abyssinian was suffering from an inflam-
matory tumor on the right arm. TIer muster, suppos-
ing it to be a pl ague-spot, ordered molten lead to b e
poured upon the afi'e eted part.. 'Illis heroic treatment
caused the most exquisite suffering, and the poor slave
besought her master, with tears and cries, to desist.
r oujuillt inquired, through his dragoman, if molten lead
was efficaciows in the treatment of the plague. " It
either kills or cnres at once," replied the Mussulman;
"and, by Allah, that is what I want."
Comparatively few Turks practise medicine. The
professors of the healing art in T llrkey are mostly Greek
and I talian adventurers who make the simple M081eUlS
the dupes of their charlatanism. Even those who are
employed Pl'OfCllSionally in the Seraglio, and penetrate
the mysteriolls harems of the Turkish grandees, do not
Ilesitate to administer pl'eparations followed by the most
fata l effects. The I mperial license to practise any-
where in the Sultan's dominions can be obtained for a
few piastres. The Turks do, indeed, profess to teach me-
(licine in tl lo school s attached tl) the 1l1 f)Sq n ('S lifter th e
doctl'inc;; of the old Artib authors, but the p rncticc is
Sll.ISTj:J,\, 265

founded upon no defi nite system, Their simple rome·


dies, howevcr, arc usually more eflicaciolls than the
t reatment dictated by thc ignorance and superstition of
the Greeks, The believer in f:ltal it.y docs not fear death ;
and this is the principal reason why in times of the
plague thc Turks Sllffer less than the timid Christians,
Among the Slaves the practice of medicine is con·
fi ned chiefly to magidaus and so!'eere]os. Surgery, as
among the Tm ks, is monopolized by the knights of the
razor, that instrument being eml)loycd alike in shaving
the heads of MUS$ulmans and the faces of Christians,
in circumcision, bloodletting, and the removal of tn·
mors. TIle mountaineers of Bosnia and Montcnegro
have an cfficacious method of tl'eating the wounds re·
eeived in their almost })crpetual conflicts. There are
no mid wi Yes. The women frcquently bring forth alone
in the woods or fields, at a distance from allY habitation.
Soon after the infant is born the mother washes it in
the nearest brook, and then pastm'es her flock, or con-
tinues her labor as before, The child being eonst..mtly
in the open air and not impeded in movement by over·
much clothing, speedily acquires the use of ils limbs,
but is gencrally nursed by the mother until her next
pregnancy, though five or six ycars intervene. Un~
weaned children arc not lmfrequcntly heard discnssi ng
the quality of their beverage, and, as evm'ybody smokes,
have becn known to throw aside the pipe to have re·
course to the maternal breasl.
12
2(l(l IWU;\UNIA.

As 1l1ll011g nil burbnl'olls or semi-barbarous people,


the absence of favorable eil'cnlllstances causes the l)re-
mature death of children that arc naturally feeble.
Those only who posscss vigorous constitutions reach
maturity. A rapid increase of p opulation is thereby
p revented, but the survh'OI"S are more healthy and
"igorolls than the majority in civilized countries. This
is especially the case ill the mountainous regions, where
the natural strcngth is increased by a temperate manner
of life.
The Slaves have for ages been acquainted with hy-
Jropathy. I n case of a febrile attack, the Servian at once
avails himself of the exorcising prayel'8 of his priest,and
drinks largely of cold water. For inflammatory di ....
eascs he imbibes freely of an infusion of pepper or gUll-
l)owder and slivovitza-a vile brandy made from
plums. The patient then covel"S himself warmly, 80
as to get rid of the malady by profuse perspiration.
An infusion of hot wine and gunpowder is considered
a specific fOl' the fcver and ague. I.umbago is dri ven
away by severe frictions. F or constipation, a bullet is
swallowed, or a heated stone applied to the abdomen_
TIle latter remedy is also cmployed to dispel rheu-
matic pains. Vinegar is taken to give tOile to the sto-
mach. Sugar, however, is the heroic remedy. M.
P ouquevillo says that t hey give it to persons in the
agony of deatJl in order that they Illay die sweetly.
ClLAPfER XI.

R.AliBI..ES IN BUI.OAlUA.

"Danubio, rio dovino


Quo por uerdll n~ciollcs,
Vas con t\15 clanls ondas WscurriOtldo."
LorI> IlE Vk:Gt..,

TIlE Turks rise carly in order to invoke the P rophet.


The caWa8 of I brahim the khan-keeper, led to my
quarters by some mysterious agency, woke me at an
car]y hour. H e shouldered my carpet-bags and led tho
way to the khan, where, as he declared, they had been
waiting an hour for my arrival.
Oli, the delusions of Oriental exaggeration! The
escort to guard me a~lst the bashi-bazollks had
dwindled down to two Turkish soldiers, onc of wholll
was sick and the other clHfrged w ith a large bag of
piastres for a Mussttlman merchant in Stmnboul.
Theee, in default of a banking system, had to be con-
,"eyed hundreds of miles, and, in my opinion, were a
capital temptation f(lr klephts and hyd uks.
268 JWU~lA...-;IA.

The magnificent horses promised the day before,


which were to rival the swift CQUl'Scrs of the IIafter, I
found to be wretched hacks of the vilest Bulgarian
blood, incomparably morc wretched than anything
equine to be fouod in the wide kingdom of Connaught.
I am confident Olst, taken together, they did not exhibit
one of the seventy good traits which, according to the
best Arab judges, belong to every good horse. What
magical wand could have converted the creatures of
my imagination into snch detestable hivans 1 They
seemed to be formed merely of osseous tissue and the
organs of respiration, packed tightly in a cutaneous
integument, the solution of whQSC continuity revealed.
here and there the workings of the skeletons within.
Baron Munchauscn would not have entertained for a
moment tho thought of reaching Vama with such ani-
mals, to disturb whose stable equilibrium but a single
breath of air seemed necessary.
But the araba to which these l)romising steeds
were harnessed- what beautiful word could express a
more perfect delusion! Not a particle of iron or metal
of any kind had been used in the construction of that
nondescript vehicle, good for nothing but in name.
Upon four wooden wheels was balanced a rude box
framed of sticks of wood interwoven with pieces of
bark. Bows had been bent over the tOll so as to sup-
port a coarse mat, in the shade of whieh might repose
the weary traveller.
RAMIlLES IN BULGARIA, 269
Ibrahim looked upon me with lofty contempt, as
with a single effort of the hand I produced a luxatiOll
in almost every joint of the curious structure.
" B084 I boah!" I shouted into his ears-a Turkish
word signifying all that is worthless and contemptible
in things vcr bal or material. I was tired of Silistl'ia,
and plainly saw it would be of no amil to rouse til) tllO
fanatical in Ibrahim. The cawas of the dirty, yellow
turban and shuffiing babouchc declared that not an-
other aruba could be found in the city. "Pekee.'
pem!"" good! good!" whispered the Turkish soldier
with the piastres, who, instead of drawing his cimiter
to force me into the araba, ingeniously threw his arms

around my neck aud besought h:C to go.
I meekly inquired of Ibrahim how long it might
take me to reach Varna in the conveyance he had sup-
plied. His answer gave me a clearer comprehension
of the Turkish character than medicating a whole regi-
ment of the Nizam, or poring for weeks over the ple-
thoric tomes of Von IIammer. Drawing himself up t<-
his fnll height, and seizing witb one hand his magnifi-
cent be(ud, he shouted, " I am not Allah ! how should
I comprehend time and di stance~" and meekly aelded,
"There is but one God, and Mohammed is His Pro-
phet j" a sentence that cuts the gordian-knot of all
Ottoman difficulties.
'Ve started. The very dogs barked at us until they
lost tbe power of utterance; and veiled women ra.n out.
270 COUMANIA.

to look upon Hie departing l'owndji. I could only won-


der whether the awkwa.rd, waddlill:; bundle of clothes
before me enveloped the blushes of sweet seventeen or
the frowlls and wrinkles of scycnty winters. 'Va passed
through the southern gate of Silistria, and took tlac road
which winds up the ravine between Arab Tabia and tho
Medjidic.
Looking back, I bade a final adieu to old Dauubills,
the onc great ri\'cr of Europe. It was on the Danube
that I had enjoyed some of the wildest scenery of the
Eastern world. I had there become acquainted witJI
aU the beautiful features of German sociallife-thc."c
learned to honor Hungarian viltliC and patriotism.
Amid the strata of eXI)iring civilizations I had seen
much which carried the mind back to the time when
the tramp of R oman legions was heard along the
Danube, and Roman life throbbed in the busy camps
and cities of the Ister) long ago given UI) to desolation
and solitude. Even in these remote regions the victa-.
rious eagles left the impress of civilization, for, as Pom-
pey said, the foot of a Roman soldier had but to touch a
foreign soil, and new institutions would spring forth
as if BI)Ontan,eolls.
'Vhat wonder, 0 reader! that the ancient Egyptians
deified N ilus ! TIe scatters fertility like a god ; and
without him there had been no Egypt. Great rivers,
like hoary temples and the everlasting moulltains, have
a mute eloquence of their own. The mythology of
RA.\fDLES IN DUI.(;ARJ A. 271

Greece, instinct with imagination, crowned eyery rock


with an Oread, hid a Naiad in every fountain, and if it
did not, like the Egyptian, deify rivers, it at least made
them sacred to the gods, and COllYClt ed their sylvan
banks into retreats for the graces and the muses. Like
the illustrious French tra\·ellel·, who roamed over the
Eastern world more as a pilgrim tJlall a mere gatherer
of facts, I have always had a passion to press my lips t.o
the bosom of great rivers, believing it were better if
man and naturc were more familiar. Thus have I
drunk from the Mississippi, the Thames, the Rhine, the
Rhone, and the Danube; thus also from the Nile, the
Jordan, the TIissus, and that lesser stream of A sia whose
munnuring waters often listened to the songs of nomer.
Riyers arc the moving highways of the nations. In
the earlier ages of the world they slowly accomplished
what the steam-ship booming on U1C ocean, and thought
leaping across thc globe on telegraphic nerves, arc now
doing to solve the destiny of thc human race. Their
Briarean arms embrace the eartll. The earlier migra-
tions crept slowly along their banks, and much of the
commerce of the world still flows in their channels.
The familiar and high-souuding namos of Eastern
rivers a re apt, howc\'er, to give a wrong impression of
their size and importancc. The Danube and the Nile
arc indeed magnificent streams ; thc former receiving
the waters of a hundred rivers, with many nations
clustered on its banks, the lnttcr flowing throllgh :l.
2i2 ROUllANlA.

t housand miles of desert without a single tributary. The


Jordan is worthy to be called a river only when swollen
by the winter rains: the Eurotas of Sparta is a mere
mountain·brook. The Simois, and that stream on the
plain of Troy which the gods called Xanthns and men
Seamander, are scarcely visible except to the eye of
faith; the Cq)hissns, which waters the gl'Oves of the
Academy, and once waked the swelling thoughts of
Plato, would not, in this practical age, propel an ordi-
nary saw-mill; and the Dissns, the Bissus of A thens,
that far-famed river sacred to the muses, can be leaped
across by a child, and furni shes scarcely water enongll
to purify the rags of a few Greek women, the unpoctical
descendants of t he N usoo ./lusiadUJ, who once wandered
along its banks.
Never shall I forget that inky, leaden Bulgarian
sky, 01' the cold wind which, cradled among the icy
peaks of the Balkans, swept down the ravine through
which we were passing. TIle 'Vallachian plain, the
minarets of Silistria, the Arab Tabia, and the Medjidie,
were soon out of sight, and drawing my travelling-cluak
closely around me, I stretched myself at full length
on the bottom of the araba, to meditate upon the
pleasures of travel among semi·barbarians. Of romance
t here was none: romance bclongs to civilization.
I found the arabi much better than I had expected.
From its looseness of construction it yielded gently t(l
the sudden elevations and dcpressions in the B ulgarian
n ,ulOU;s I:.' T:ULGAIUA. 213

road, and swayed to-and-fro like a ship in a storn•. The


horses were not nimble, nor did their peculiar manner
. of locomotion correspond to anytlting I had read in the
Gennan work on the gaits of animals, but, like the
araba, excepti ng a few vicious tricks, they surpassed all
expectations.
On reaching the elevated p lateau which flanks
Silistria, the winding road stretches ofl" in a south-
easterly direction towards the Euxinc. As we ad-
vanced, the country became more hilly and broken .
The ravines weTC well wooded. Many of the slopes
bore a close resemblance to the oak-open.ings of tll(~
West; and from time to time we passed through mag-
nificent forests that would do credit even to American
scenery. The soil would be exceedingly fertile, were
it not for the great scarcity of water during the months
of summer and autumn. The first day's journey I saw
but a single stream. The region, for many miles in tho
interior, had been occu})ied by the Russians, and pre-
sented a scene of the utmost desolation. Hordes of
marauding bashi-bazouks had destroyed the l ittle left
after the forages of the Cossacks. The Bulgarian cabins
were reduced to ashes, and their inmates swept away
by the rude breath of war. The fountains. erected here
and there by Moslem piety or Moslem pride had fallen
into decay, or had recently been broken and defaced
by ruthless hands. The Russians plunged their dead
horses into the ,~cll s, and the apparition of outstretched
12*
214 nOJ.:lL\~ I A.

legs from the li mpid water was not pcculiarly gratifying


to a thirsl;y traveller.
The road was in a state of nature. Selim, a. paragon
of Oriental ease, was perpetually losing his way among
the diverging rontes, and the sick man l)atted along
behind us, on the spare Bulgarian pony. Abdallah,
my right-hau d man, and withal It phlml), gOOd-natured
Turk from tIle camp of Aehmet Pacha, mingled his
amatory chants with the sighs and groans of the araba.
lie seemed happy, just retnrning to Stamboul, after a
long campaign on the Danube, and sang giizal ! pel.;
gilzalJ (my b eautiful! my very beautiful !) hour
after hour, in drawli ng, I1l1.sal ton es, that could not
ha\'e been equalled by a Scotch master of psal m-
ody.
We met a. Jong string of arabas from the interior,
drawn by red-eyed bufialoes, and loaded with grain for
Sil i stri~l. I d:id not omit the Turkish snlntntion, A leikum,
8alaam in answer to &laam, aleikum/ (Peace be with
you!) to the drivers of these anomalous animals before
vehicles still more fLllOmnlous. TO other quadruped,
bovine or equine, combines so perfectly all the points
of ugliness us the Bulgarian buffal o j and certainly, the
cunning h and of mnn cannot devise another vehicle so
ludicrous ami indescribably wretched as the Turk ish
araba, whose original must have been in use among the
nomadic peuplads of Orehan and Timonr. Magnificellt
word , typicaJ of flmt Orien tal exaggerat ion which for
r;:A~mLES IX BULOARI A. ~-5
:::ll

ever flatters with high-sounding names, and disgusts


with the shabbiness of the reality.
' Vc made comparatively little progress, and at
nigLtf:l11 reached Koutchouk-Kn"inlll'clji, a large Blll-
garian village, where the celebrat.ed treaty of that
llamc was signed on a drum-head, in the year 1114, by
F ield-Marshal Romanoff and the represen tative 01' the
Grand Vizier. In that convention, since so ofton in-
voked by Tnrkey as well as Russia, the Porte recognised
the indel)cndcncc of the Tartal'S of the Crimea, and
granted to the Russians free navigation in all the seas
of the Ottoman Empi re, thus opening the route to Con-
stantinople to the Muscovite fleets, and foresh adowing
evils innumerable to the Turks. Catharine, by way of
compensation, reatOl"ed to the Ottomans Bessarabia, the
Dmlllbian Principalities, and the islands of the Arcll i-
pelago, })l"Cviously conquered by the Russians"
We left Koutehouk Ka"inardji. long before daybreak.
For some distance the road led thl·ongh a deep gorge
where the groans of the araba awakened echoes resem-
bling the gibberish screams of disembodied spiriu.,
whom I imagined to be waiting in that Stygian chasm
for a passage to the other world. Emerging at last we
entered a magnificent forest wilh elevations interlocked
here and there with silvery streams" TIle f.'lee of the
country was far more interesting than between Silistria
and Ka"inarji. To all appearance the COS$ncks had not
extended thcil" fornys hnyond the latter place.
2iG I!OU)[ANI ... .

Our slow progress ga'·e me ample time to study the


flora and fa.una, as well as for personal adventure in
the wilds of B nlgaria. I ndeed to han} accelerated our
speed beyond a walk would 1Ia\·e been attended by the
most disastrous consequences to the aruba and our
cloud-pawing steeds. By degrees I became greatly
interested in the latter. The sight of them carried my
thoughts back to a lost antiquity, for in their manner
of locomotion I discovered a striking resemblance to
the one-sided gait still retained by the elephant and
giraffe, and known to have been highly fashionable
among the quadrupeds of the pre-Adamic world.
Thc heart of the Bedouin is not more effectually
won by the tearful eye, the plaintive mOtUl, and the
tender feminine ways of the camel than was my own
by the contemplation of those mathematical lines and
points, those time· worn volumes of conic sections (bound
in horse) belonging to Ibrahim, the khan·keeper of
Silistria.
There was another retarding cause. Selim, Abdal-
lah, and Zabat, simple children (If natUl"C, heard sermons
in the running brooks, the mu rmurs of whose waters
invited them to prayer. They pallsed by almost every
stream and after the ablutions, made in the precise
manner prescribed by the rl"ophet, bowed reverently
towards Mecca. To behold these chi ld l"~n of Islam
mingling their orisons with the j Iluilee of awakening
morn, now prostrate upon the enrlh, now stretch ing

Q --
-"
their hands toward the iltars, was a scene worthy of
V oronoso and Claude Lorm inc.
W e had ridden three hOllrs without brQlIkfast, and I
began to complain of Selim for having neglected to
p rovide something for me to cat on the way. At Jast
we app,-oached a cluster of houses, but on finding no
khan, betook ourselves to the place where several
Turkish farmers WOr e threshing grain with horses. A
circular piece of ground some four rods in diameter,
trodden hard and surrounded by a high fence, appeared
to have been used as the common threshing-fl oor of the
hamlet from time immemorial. The sheaves of wheftt
were brought from the adjacent ricks, and eight or ten
wild-looking Bulgarian horses tnrned in loose and kept
revolving round the lazy Turk ill the centre lIntii the
wheat was disengaged by the nction of their nimble
feet.
They were partaking of thei r morning repast, and
hospitably invited liS to be seated with them. The
flu id portion of the meal consisted of sOllr milk, an
article of diet in great favor with the Tnrks, and pu re
eold water from a neighboring sp!"ing. The solids were
sern~d in the shape of enormo.lls griddle-cakes, cemented
together with butter of' the most dubious qnality, and
of bread wh ich, notwit hstanding much experience, I at
first took for granite. I sat on the ground and ale as
greedily tl$ nny one in that dusty gronp. While travel-
ling in Eng-hmd it ocenrrCfI to me tIl at the wOI"l'l lll)St. 'i~

27S RO L")Of AN I A.

derived from the Latin /lOsti8, signifying ID1 enemy ;


but, generally, the Turks will rccci ,'c nothing in retum
for hospitality like the above. In fact, my escort set
about the matter as if there had been no necessity for
nn invitation from Baba Bn.shi, th e fan ner. Some-
times, however, tJIC good Mnssu]msn , who invokes t110
bl essi ng of Allah upon the head of the departing
howadji, docs not object to having a few piastres
slipped slily into his hand.
Baba Bashi learned by accident that I was a hakcem.
The pllysician stands in high repute with the Orientals.
To consult the oracIe of Esculapinll wisdom the cadi
d ismisses his court., the mo1lah h is school, and beys
sllTcnd their table with castom hospitality. I need not
here relate how many cur iOIlS cases werc brought for-
ward for my examination, and how much grati tude 1
often evoked by a word of s]lnl)atlIY and advice.
Baba Bashi at once rcquested me to see a sick child in
his family and conducted me to the hamlet for tllat
purpose. ' Ve entered the courtyard surrounding his
house, and after a short pause in the sclamlik, or malc
apartment, p roceeded to tho ltarem.
l 1lOugh simply a Turkish farme l', Baba Bashi was

evidently in good circumstances, and I was not a Iittlc
sll 'l)riscd at the extcnt of tho (,t'tablishmcnt witllin th08C
UlI1)romising mud walls. Two 01' tllrce low st.mcture8
had been united into a single edifice, tlle exterior or
whi ('h hnd IlCVl'r heen (l ~c mtcd b,v paint or white-
P.AUULI.:5 IN lllJLOARl A. 279

wash. The prominQnt architccturiil idca III the con-


struction of a Turkish house is to scparate tllC miue and
female apartments and mllkB the rooms square. The
apartments aI"C generally low and well ventilated, the
JattCl' being l"CIHlered necessary by the smok illg habits
of the Osmanlis. The ceilings of Turkish rooms arc
usnally ornamented, but Oil entering the selamlik of
Daba Dashi my attention was at once attracted by
the artistic embellishmellts 011 its walls.
Like StcnlC's wig, tJICy were both above and below
criticism . Clays of various eolors llad evidently formed
the plastic material for those curious pictures, the exe-
'cution of which I could attribute only to the arellitccts
of the amorphous griddle-cakes just cnten with the 13aslli.
There stood a camel and lion complacently eating
fmit from the b ranches of the same tree, the" shill of
the desert" betrayed only by his hump, the tawny king
of the beasts partially lost in the dim perspecti~-e, frOIll
which he WtlS "pawing to get free." Finl ess fishes
sported among clouds, while animals aerial imd terrene,
llever caged in the mentftl mell:"lgeries of Landseer 0 1·
Rosa BOll..heur, floun dered in wateTless seas,
"fluga, unwi<lldy, wallowing in their gait."

The harem was l)rovided on three sides with n rais('d


divan. In olle corner stood a number of slender c1d-
bouq nes for females. On the open side of the room
was n rndc ,,",)Od-colored casc for clisllCS and clothes.
280 nO UlLANIA.

On our approach there was a regular stampede


among the children. I presume tJlat they have since
often been told, "Be good children now, or that beard-
less howadji will come back again and carry you away!"
The mother remained seated upon the divan.
"Dost thou think, H akeem Bashi, that the child
will recover 'I" inquired Baba of me, after I had care-
fully examined it.
" I hope so," I replied.
"Give it medicine, 0 H akeem, that it may not die,"
solemnly enjoined the Bashi.
Here was a professional dilemma. I bad not bee n
able to procure even a sugar-coated pill at Silistria, an d
my medicine casc was 1\$ empty as a contribution box
after a charity scnnon. But remembering the purifying
and tonic effect of cold water, I gravely remarked, in
the best Turkish I could command, " Tum the child's
face towards Mecca twice a day, and wash it with the
water that Allah gave to be Hsed by the Faithful."
TheFe is but one sight more sad than that of deserted
cities and villages : it is to behold well-filled cities of
the dead in places once busy with life-to stcp from
gravestone to gravestone in solitudes once throbbing
with multitudes of human beings. This sense of lone-
liness in the wilds of Bulgaria often weighed upon me
with a secret terror.
IIere we come upon a little village, consisting of a
few Turkish and Bulgarian hilts) with a cemetery ncar
I


§
i
RAMlIU:S TN nULGAltiA. 281
at hand, covering acres of ground, and dotted with
tombstones fall en or leaning ill all possible directions;
and there, on the open plain, or in some shady grove,
traversed "narvest Fields of God," as the Germans
beautifully cull these resting-places of the departed, in
the loneliest solitude.
Bulgaria is the desert of Islam-not a desert of
sand, but of rich, unculti vated wastes.
Populous cities sprang up in the time of the ancient
kings, some of which did not lose their importance
until long after the Turks encamped in Europe. With
the Moslem invasion, however, expired the Bulgarian
spirit. Their ancient renov.'ll. passed away before the
rapid U8C1J' of Ottoman conquest. Many of their cities
and villages were swept away, while others, left unte-
nanted and alone, have so mouldered into dust that not
a traee of them now remains.
In vain I searched for the monuments of her ancient
power. Yet among the Balkans the traveller now amI
then meets with reminiscences of the Slavl)oBulgaric
rule in the primitive customs, a.nd traditions of the
people) and the crumbling remains of a n1de and ancient
architecture. Nor arc there wanting the memorials-of
cruelty and oppression in more modem times.
Far away to the northward, near the Servo-Bulga.
rian frontier, there is an immense conical mound formed
of twenty thousand human skulls. 'Vhitened by the
snow and rain, it gleams on the plain of Nissa like 11.
282 ROUlt,\!'IA.

tower of P arinn marble. 'l1lC winds from the monn-


tains, sighing throug h the innumerable cavities of the
skeleton hends, give tllcm doleful, doleful voices. To
n few still cling locks of hair, like mosses and lichens,
which, floating in the wind, add unspeakable horror to
this most barbarous monument. The twenty thonsand
Scrvian and Bulgarian warriors who fell, fighting hero-
ically on the plain of Nissa, were worthy of a better
mausoleum. The Turks poin t proudly to this montl-
ment of their own erecting as a memorial of their
prowess. The Sen-inns, now independent, point to it
with equal pride as a proof of the cost of liberty, and
an eloquent incentive to its preservation.
Bulgaria will likewise one day be free, and her rude
children will chant the songs of liberty, around this
monumcnt of cl'Uclty.
Ncar Missolonghi, in Greece, where Byron died,
there was also formerly:\ la rge l)yramid of sknlls, which
had once belonged to Greek patriots, but were thu8
])iied up by the Turks during the Greek revolution.
" P eacc to the ashcs of the llatriotic dead." but every
Anglo.-Saxon, gone to sentimentalize on the battle fields
of Greece, has carried away one of the rattling craniums
as a reminiscence until the pyramid is now reduced to
half-a-dozen sorry speci mens, quite unwor thy of Ole
brains which once grew big with Platonic thought, and
throbbed with the pulses of Attic fire.
Yet there can be no fairer seat of empirc than Turkey
RlUlIlU:S IN nULGAJUA. 283

in Europe. It is endowed with the eternal advantages


of nature. 'Vashed by the Euxine, the .LEgeun, and the
Adriatic, and boasting of the noblest rivers and richest
plains, its commercial and agricultural resourees are
not surpassed by any other part of the globe. The
northern slope of t h e Balkans is covered with rich
forests. A deep humus extends almost up t.o their
summits. And southward, "while the mountaineer ki n-
dles his fire on the glaciers, the olive, the fig, and the
pomegranate grow far below in valleys that J.."1l0W no
winter." There, is a land of gentle breezes, of purple
skies, of all the soft delights of the great-cyed Orient
Bnt under Turkish :rule, which" consumetJl forever,"
the monumeqts of ancient art and power have mould-
ered away. The hum of business and the noise of com-
merce have yielded to the silence of deatJl, and the
sites of populous cities are marked only by the silent
cities of the dead. ..
The Danube is the main geogmphical feature con-
necting Europcan Turkey wi th Central Europe. It
seems to invite the return of the Germanic nations
toward the soil of Asia, the cradle of thei r race. The
cast of Europe lies open to the surpl us popul ation of the
West. TIer half-starved myriads might find a near
asylum on the uncultivated plains and in the rich fo-
rests of European Turkey. D espotism has decreed other-
wi!;e, but from those weary and I)Cnt-llp miJli ons streams
of emigration burst forth , like the fabled fo untain of the
284 ROUl(A N IA.

sacred Arethusa, and forci ng their way through other


clumncls, reach tIl C shores of the Western World- the
home of a free people who love, and who have straggled,
to be free.
CHAPTER XII.

TURKISII Tlt.AJ)ITlON8.

"Yo who lovo 110 nation's le-gende,


Lon. tho ballad!! of " people,
That liko VoiOOll from afiu" off
Call to UlI to pallM IIlId listen j
'3peak in t.onCli "" plain and childlike,
Scarcely oon tho car distinguisb
Wbether tbey l\ro lIung or spoken .

• • • • • •
Li.6tcn to theao wild traditions,
Stay and read Ibis rude inllCriptiou.'·

TOWARDS sunset tbe arabA ascended a low ridge, giving


mc, unexpectedly, an excellent vicw of the old Turkish
city of Bashardshik. It appeared as if sunk in I!. de·
pression of the Bulgariall pillin, its low dwellings
enveloped in a. sea of hazy , autumnal vapor, above
which the minarets and domes of the mosques rooc in
clear, sharp outline against the eastern sky. Slowly
the arabi wound down to the deserted gate; slowly it
traversed the lonely streets. ScUm at Jast halted in
fron t of the khan which, by special command of Mo-
hammed, and in compliance with the spirit of Eastern
286

1lOspitality, must be kept in every Moslem town for the


rest of the t rayelJer. .A venerable Turk received llS at
the doof, with many sala.:'uns, given in all the rotundity
of Oriental expression.
The khan was a low, rude building, divided into
two compartments---one for ourselves, and the other
for the horses. A fire was kindled in onc comer, for
light and coffee-making. A few Turks dropped in, one
after another, and curled l ip their legs on the mats, to
see the howadj i, or learn the latest news from the
Danube. The Russians had just recrossed the Pruth.
"The Mosko8 are dogs of infidels, whom we can
suffocate merely by. spitting upon them I" exclaimed a
grave Mussulman j "if each of us do but throw a stone
we shall destroy tlJcm! Great is God, who doth cause
the gales of victory to blow ill favor of our sublime
Padishah !" But they shuddered, and seized their
beards in terror when I alluded to the late depredations
of the bashi-bazouks. Bashardshik had fonnerly con-
tained fifteen thousand inhabitants, but was then we11-
nigh deserted. A few weeks previous, a band of those
pious robben; had scattered the peaceful inhabitants,
destroyed several mosques and khans, and laid whole
streets in smoking ru ins.
We were silently interm ingling frag rant vapors of
latakieh witb aromati c Mocha, when the apparition of
a Turk in the low doorway of tllC khan, with a circular
board balanced up(.n his Ilcad, gave li S to lInderstand
TURRIS] f TT:AOITIONS. 2S7

that the evening meal was ready. The :hl ussulmuns llSO
neither tables, napkins, knives, nor forks. 'V c squatted
arou nd the circular b(lard, elevated a few inches abo\'e
the fl oor by a single leg, and with left hands thrust int(l
our pockets, ()r under the folds of Ol1 r garments-for
with the Moslems the left hand is unclean-proceeded
to discuss the meal. The fi rst dish was a species (If fast·
day soup, of an infinitesimal degree of fatness and
solidity, and eaten with w(loden spoons, whieh my com-
panions were careful to turn upside down wilen not in
use. 'Vhat true Mussulman, 0 reader, would be guilty
of sumptuary extravag:mce, in view (If the awfltl de·
duration of the P rophet, " V eriiy, the fires of hell
shall roar like the lowings of a camel in the bellies of
sneh as use vessels of gold and silver !"
Then followed bl ack Bulgarian bread, exhibiting
the obvious qualities of petrifaction , and mysterious
compounds of meats and vegetables, evidently not a
product (If that celestial cuisine, the secret of which
the angels arc said to ha\'e imparted to Abraham. The
Turks boast of fift.y p reparations of milk, bllt my sonl
longed fo r a little butter devoid of capill ary illgredients.
The long ride and the indescribable motion (If the
araba,
"Taking rue here when I meant there, ~

had given me an appetite, and I cat as heartily as any


one in that turbaned g mup. But J could not help
2SS ROI: llA:-;IA.

thinking of the rcR8Qnablencss of an imposition fonneri,


levied by the beys and l)achas travelling in Bulgaria.
The inhabitants were obliged to pay a WothrUlm by way
of indemnity for the wear and tear of the dental organs
of their masters in masticating the villanons compounds
furnished them.
Captain Adams, of the Japan Expedition, once told
me that the Japanese officials who were feasrod on
board his ship, used knives and forks for the first time
with all the grace of Parisians. I cannot say as much
of myself ill cntingdla. Turque. I oonfess, however, to
occasional feelings of curiosity not unlike those expe-
rienced by my companion at the P,yrnmids, when par-
taking of a roynl banquet with the King of the Sand-
wich Islands. Assurances had been given that no
dogs would be served on the occasion. The King ate
of a faYorite dish brought from n side-table. The Cap-
tain eould think of nothing but dogs--{)f dogs of all
the ages, colors, and 8a\'ors affordcd by the apotM08t8 0f
Anubis. Evcrythil1g he cat und drank seemed to savor
of the canine. A nicely cookcd dish before my friend
60 excited his curiosity that, tum ing to Ow King, lie
inquired-
"Isn't that 1'cally dog, your Maj esty?"
"No," repl ied the King; "if it were, Captain,
you'd sec me laying into it."
The Turks look upon dogs as 1Ill('lean; but I will not
answer tor a11 th('ir dishes.
'fUHKISII Tl(AlI!TIOXS. 289

PilajJ~ the crowning glory of eyery Tnrkish repnst,


w'as bronght on j but I detennined to have a chicken
wherewith to fini sh my evening menlo I could th ink
of the Turkish word for wings and legs, but was \mable
to call to mind the pllnlSe for the tout cn~cllt7Jlc, roasted
nicely upon coals. An idea struck me. R ising to Illy
fect, I gave fL tremendous crow, which, for once in my
c:\.l)erienee, bu rst the floodgates of Ottoman g ravity, and
p robably immortalized me in the estimation of my
compaillons. Then they smoked their pipes gr:lvely,
and exclaime<.l, "God is great!" A fter that philologi-
cal triumph, the fowl was quickly forthcoming. And,
1J(~rcafter, when those statuesque Moslems meet together
in the khan of Bashardshik, they will, doubtless, tell of'
the howadji who spoke to them as they had neyer heard
man speak befOl·e.
During the monosyllabic conversation that ensued,
I had occasion to show them a Congress knife and Colt's
revol ver. H aving examined them long and attentil'ely,
they filled their chibonqnes, and exclaimed, " H ow
great is God! The giaonrs of America arc wiser than
the giaonrs of England and France, because they make
better knives and pistols! God in his mercy hath per-
mitted a glimmering of light to enter the corners of
yOllr eyes. May he take ten years f!'om our lives, and
add them to the yeMs of om Sublime P adisha! Wher-
ever the sun sll incs, does he not beam 1I1)on a land of
Mussul mans? The ambassadors come froUl the E.'lst
13
290 l:or:llAXIA.

find the West, and the Korth :md the South, to fCClL
upon our bounty! Behold how the infidclllatiolls are
destroying each other! Let us devoutly thank God
who, in this war, hath been pleased to bring about a
state of things for the benefit of our cause, wherein one
kind of infidel dog is fast killing off anothCf kind, so
that we may soon expect to see the entire face of unhe-
lievers exterminated 1"
11ms spoke my companions between coffee and
tobacco. Remember, reader, they were simple Mussul-
luan s of the old school-i nhabitants of a town in a
remote province of European Turkey, still retaining a
fanatical belief in t]lC superiority of Islam. How dif-
ferently converse the Europeanized dwellers along tlle
Bosphorns, who have tasted the bitterness of Navarino
and Sinope, and in their humiliation lost-utterly 10st-
both the enthusiasm of their once victorious faith, and
the illusion of Empire !
One or two of my turbaned friends, more inquisi-
tive than the rest, ventured to inqllire ab01lt my country.
"0 Effendis," I replied, Abdallah translating what I
said into Turkish, " our Padisha dweJleth in the mun·
sions of intelligence and understanding! One and
thirty nations obey him, and in n land that extends
from the rising to the setting sun new cities and em-
pires afC ever springing up as if by magic to lay their
golden seeptres at Ilis feet. Eacll subject is eqml.l to a
paeha ; and lJ.e SUll , wherever he shines, beams not
T (jl~K ! SI[ TI1.\D1T!OX S . 201

upon aJand of fairer women. Th e monntains arc


chained to each other with bars of iron, and the seas
linked together with bands of silver. Men fly swifter
than the winds, in chariots of fire. They are trans-
l)orted from place to place in floating palllces; and
though separated from each other a hundred days'
journey, hold converse by the lightnings 1" My Mos-
lem friends smoked on in silence. Then t.he Eflendi,
who at first had" torn out his eyes in admiration" of
my pocket-knife, exclaimed at long intervals, "0 lIa-
keem Bashi, how hath the devil multil)\ied t he cunning
inventions of the unbelievers! 'Vhat machines hath
he not foun d out to disturb the pious meditations of
the faithful, and bring discord into the universe! God
is great!"
My companions evideutly began to regard me as a
wandering story-teller, come from the land of the
setting sun to bask in lhe radiance of the Gmnd
Seignor. A fellow-feeling arose between us.
Dramatical exhibitions, and the entertainment of
printed fiction, arc wanting in the East, but the ima-
g inative Orientals find a congenial amusement in listen-
ing to the recital of marvellous stOl'ies. 'l1lronghout
the lands of Islam, from Belgrade to Basson, from the
~Icetian Estuary to the unknown fountains of the Nile,
you will fi nd the roaming romancer, Sail upon the
Tigris or l11e Nile, bury yourself in the IIedjaz, or the
delicious solitudes of Arabia the Blest, t ra.verse the
292 ROl:~IAXIA.

deserts cf Irak, or the wastes of Syria-everywhere


you will meet with the wandering story-teller, ready to
delight the people with his simple narratLo!,s j every-
where you will behold eager groups impatient to catch
the bewitching words that fall from his lips. In the
Jarger Turkish cities the M edaks (story-tellers) form
corporate bodies, with a sheik at their l1eOO, called
I meddalt. They may be seen in the caravansaries and
khans. They linger lovingly in the kaAve8 of Oriental
cities, prolong the pleasures of the delicious l.,.iPf, and
practise thcir poetical profession ill barhcr-sbops and
baths. The M edaks always commence with an invoca-
tion to the Most n igh : "Praise to Allah, and to his
favorite Mohammed, whose black eyes beam with
sweetness! H e is the only apostle of truth!" The
audience, "fit, though few," responds Amen, and the
naITation begins. Some of them improvise, but for
the most part they relate new and marvellous histories,
or embroider the arabesques of imagination and the
imbroglios of adventure npon some weII known theme.
Now they suddenly break off the nmTative at the
climax of interest, like the ingenious sultana of the
A_rabian Nights, and now, to prolong the story and
multiply the e:\."})ectcd paras, we(lye in other tissues of
romancc, varied by n thousand nuance8 of surprise and
interest. And then again, with marvellous" skill of
song.craft," they intermit, from time to timc, their
silvery prose with the luxury of verse. But the
TURK ISI! TltAnlTIORS. 203

object is ever to reverse the maxim of the Latin


poot:-
"Semper ad evcntum fcslinut; ct in medias res
Non suis uo notus, uuditorem rapit."

The Arabs call these social rennions .Musameril, dis-


courses by moonlight or by the glimmer of the slars.
"\VllCn the snn tonches the sandy ocean tIle roving Be-
douins bi \·ouac for the night.. And in the cool of the
p urple evening they group themselves round Jlim of
the eloquent lip and the restless eye, to listen to the
poems of Antal', or to the poetical fables of the desert,
em-iched with glowjng words f!"Om tlte chambers of his
imagery. TIle more varied and marvellous, t.he greater
the delight; for the active imagination of the Bedouin
believes as readily as it creates. Thus amid the tents
and camp-fires on the lonely desert, aud uuder the
silent stars, they draw Ollt the long hOllrs of the llight,

and the patient camels, crOllched upon tllO sand, [·each
their long necks o\·er thei r masters' shoulders, and
gaze inquiringly with their soft eyes, as if they, too,
caught the meaning of the bewitching words.
In our rude khan of Dashardshik the want of a pro-
fessioll;\l story-teller was morc than supplied by Illy
com pan Ions. A bdallah was the first to begill. ITe was
a pl ump, good-natured T urk, who hnd picked up eon~
siderablc English in Constantinoplc, llaving been fo r
some time in the service of an E llglish gentleman_
294 ROU:\[ .......... l A.

Through his interpretation, and my own knowledge of


the Turkish, I was enabled to understand my eOIll-
llaUions.
E very day Abdallah showed me in pantomime, with
flashing sabre, how he had cut off the h eads of the
jj[oskos, and how he would cut off the heads of the
bashi-bazouks, should they attempt aught of harm to
the travelling hakecm . Not· could I l)rcvcnt h im from
throwing his arms arOll!l(1 m y neck repeatedly, and
hugging me like a bear. On telling him that I was a
giaour, he would only laugh, and exclaim, pew! ben
pekee! (Good ! very good!)
"Ahmed Ali," began A bdallah, "h:willg lived h is
appointed time, the angel of deMh carried away his
sonl to the confines of non-existence. IIis Mends hn&-
tened to bear h im to the g rave on the same day, ac-
cording to the command of the P rophet. As they PI"O-
ceeded with the biel·, they C:lllle to a place where two
roads met. 'Let us go this way,' said part of them.
'No,' said the others ; 'tbis is the way.' Then illeY
disputed warmly, :lud had set down the bier from their
shouldet'S to fall upon each other with blows, when
b ehold ! Ahmed Ali I"OSC up, and stretching his pale
arm to the right, exclaimed, 'That is the way!' and
then laid himself down as before I"
"Eli Allahl" half-whispered my compan ions, hardly
knowing whether to cred it Abdallah or not. The un-
educated Turk has indeed it fncility of belief second only
TUIIKISIi TRAnITTON'S.

to that of the ITllngarian farmer, who one oay went


down to 8emlin on bllsiness. The inn wus crowded.
lIe could be accommodated only on condition of shar-
ing a small chamber with a Capuchin monk. To this
he assented, and wishing to set Ol1t for Belgrade at an
early hour the next day, charged the host to wake him
betimes in the moming. The latter did so, bllt the
countryman, in dressing, inadvertently slipped on the
gown of the Capuchin. Breakfast despatched, bill
paid, and mnch of dw distance to Belgrade left behind,
he happened to bring his sleeve and nasal organ in
close proximity, when the odor of snuff betrayed the
monkish habit. Not e\'en the possibility of a mistake
on his part oecurring to the Magyar, he soliloquized,
angrily, II A curse on the stupid host of the Three
Lions; he's waked up that :filthy Capuchin instead of
myself !"
Many of the Turkish legends, and perhaps the most
interesting, relate to Biblical subjects, especially to the
lives of the Patriarells. The Koran is to a great extent
modelled after tlle Old Testament., surcharged, however,
with Oriental exaggeration, and furnishes curiOIlS de-
partures from Scripture history fhat must }lave floated
down the sea of tradition.
The Moslems begin their legendary cycle with the
recitals of Genesis. What the inspired historian gives
in concise terms they employ in detail, embellishing it
with the roeo color of their imagination: what Genesis
206 ROf.,~[AN[A.

docs not gtye at all, they relate with pcrfect confi-


dence.
Thus we are told tlHlt our first father was born on
l\Friday, in the afternoon, at thcllreeise hour when the
muezzin calls the fa.ithfnl to prayer. W hcn God had
determined to comp lete his work by the creation of
man, his four superior angels brought earth whcrewitll
to form the body of Adam, from the four quarters of
the globe, but for his head and heart they brought
earth from Mecca and Medina. The booy of Adam, even
before being animated by the divinc breath, was 80
beautiful that the angels stood in admiration before it,
excepting Iblis, the Spirit of Evil, whose history is
borrowed from that of Lucifer.
God at last summoned the soul that was to vivify
the body of the fit'St man, and had already reposed
for centuries in flooos of light. But, not wishing to
abandon thc huninous ether to enter into a terrestrial
body, it refused to obey the command of the Almighty
"Thou shalt enter this booy in spite of thyself," replied
God; "and to punish thy obstinacy, shalt one day be
compelled to leave it ill spite of' thyself." lIe then
breathed the soul into the org-nllS of' Adam, who inune-
dintely opened his eyes, and beheld the celestial throne
with this inscription, "There is bnt one God, and Mo-
hammed is his Prophct."
The Turkish lcgcnds affirm that Adam, while in
Paradise, articuJated the names of nil the plants a.nd
n ; IlKISII TR"D1TIO~S. 297

animals in scvcnty-sc\'cn different langu:lgcs. God


gave hi m 3. bunch of the grapes of Paradise of which
he ate and then fell asleep. On awaking, he beheld
the woman, drawn fJ'om his side during his sleep, and
moved forward to embrace her. Bll t the beautiful
Eve, already acquainted with Mnssnlman usages, said to
him," God is my master; I cannot become thine with-
out his consent j and , moreover, i t is not proper for a
woman to marry a man without fi rst receiving a dower."
The good Adam, unable to reply to this sage reason-
ing, invoked the assistance of the angel Gabriel, and
obtained from him tllCse consoling words: "God gives
thee E ve for a wife. He made her for that purpose,
and commauds thee to love her as thyself. Insocad of
giving her the dower which she demands, p ray twen ty
ti mes to l(ohammed, whose sonl floated befol'C the
Eternal Throne thousands of years anterior to the crea·
tion of tllO world, b ut whose body shall be engendered
by thee."
Iblis, the Mussulman Devil, wishing to disl)OSSCSS
onr first parents of P aradise, addressed bimself firSt to
1110 peacock, which ]l:ld the vanity of a singer and thc
self-conceit of a dandy, as originally, accord ing t.o the
:Afoslem traditions, that most beautiful of birds was
endowed with nn admirable voice. The vai n creature
listened to thc fl attcring wordfj, of Iblis, but bcing or n
timid disposition, cOlll1selled him to call to his aid the
$:cl"pent, at that time the most channing of nil ani mals.
1 3*
298 IW{aIANIA.

Large as a camel, he carried npon his g raceful neck


long floating locks like those of a girl. Upon his skin
burned the most beautiful colors. H is h ead was like a
r uby, his eyes like diamonds, while his body exhaled
an odor of mnsk and amber. His sweet songs delighted
Eve, whose faithful compallion he was until led away
by I blis.
" Thou shalt grow old! thou shalt die I" said the
E\' il One to the serpellt j "bnt by three magical words
I can assure thee constant beauty-an eternal youth j
and these three words J will reveal to thee if' th('> u wilt
introduce me into P aradise." The serpen t regarding
himself in the mil-ror of fL lake, and seeing himself so
beantiful and coquettish, was frightened at the idea of
decrepitude, an d in order to attain the fou ntain of
yonth, took I bHs in his throat and fraudulently intro-
duced him within the precincts of P aradise. The
genins of Evi l there met the innocent Eve, and fri ght-
ened her as he had already the serpent with the pros-
pect of age and death, to escape which there was but one
remedy-to 1):1ftakc of the fo rbidden fruit. This is said
to have grown llpOIl a tree whose bark resembled gold,
the branches silve]', and the leaves emeralds. Upon
each of the brmlChes grew seven heads glittering like
l)reciolls stones, each contnilJing five grains of the for-
hidden fruit, white liS SIlP,,", sweet ne honey, and odori·
ferOllS as musk.
The :Moslems eXCllse the f.'mlt of Eve hy coloring it
TURKISU TRA.D1TI():\,S. 299

with all the seductive circnmstances to which she, in


her innocence, was exposed. "Frail men," say they,
"should not be without pity lor the frailty of thcir ti l"St
mother." But Adam, it is affirmed, resisted for a
period oft eighty years all the solicitations of Eve to
partake of the forbiddcn fruit, which she had found so
agreeable t.o her taste.
Miltonic verse ]\:18 lIot more beantifully described
t.he eonseqnenccs of that great fall from celestial vi rtue.
Adam was chased from Paradise by the gate of P cni.
tence j E,·o by the gate of Pity. The peacock was
deprived of his melodious Yoice, tlle serpent of Ilia
llrimitive form, ami TIllis cast down into the de}lths of
hell.
The Eagle then said to the Whale, with whom he
had lived in peace on the shores of the ocean," At
present we mllst separate, for man has become our
enemy, and we can escape his cunning and his cruelty
only by retiring j thou to the depths of the waves, and
I to the clonds above."
Adam in his solitude wept so mueh that from the
lids of his left eye, continually suffuscd with tears,
sprang the source of the river Tigris; from the right
eye that of tho Euphrates. All nature wel)t with him,
and the animals were tonchcd with commiseration.
Eve wept also; the tears which rolled down her checks
became }leads; those which fell to the earth wore
transformed into rubies. Though far separated, the
300 IlOUMASIi .

zephyrs bore to the cnrs of Ae\;ufI fnp ~jghs of, c ;


the cast wind bore tllC groans of Adam tv the ea!"d of
the disconsolate E \,c. At last, God, moved by sl1ch
suffering, sent the angel Gabriel to the peni tent Adam.
" R epeat this invocation," said Gabriel : I' There is bnt
one God and Mohammed is his P rophet. Drink water,
build mosques, and henceforth Satan will have no
power over thee."
The history of Noah and of the Deluge are vcry
similar to the narrat.ion given in the Bible. The Mus-
sulmans merely add in reference to the latter that
when the Ark, floa ting npon the waters, came near
the monntain ·where the K ruwa wru; guarded, it made
the tour around it sewn times, like a pious p i!-
grim.
I n nUl' gronp sat a venorable Turk whom his com·
panions called K itab Effendi. They looked up to him
as to a father, and it was evident that the E ffend i wns
one of the oracles of Bashardshik. lIe was n lIInssnl-
mall of the old schnol, with a helll..-1 ns wh ite as th(>
morning, and wore the full , many-colored turban and
rich flowing robes which nrc IH>W being fast supplanted
in European Turkey hy the rectilinear Frllnk costume,
but retain thci r graceful Ihlds in Damascns and Gnllvl
Caim. ITe was our" mnn"cllous "tory-teller," \Vo
gl'ouped ourselves aronnd him on th(l mnt, and the
flickel"i ng light east strnnge shnclows llpon the wall .
Travelling as I had done from nlltlml to nat ifill , J could
Tt.:I:K ' $1 1 ·nlAD1TIONS. 301

hardly realize Umt I was l:iludy ing life in a remotc and


semi·\)arbarous province of Enl'Opean Turkey.
11el'e are some of the legends related to us hy
Kitab Effendi :-
" Abraham was born in Babylon in the reign of
Nim rod, the heathen king. Upon the F riday night in
which this glorious prophet, whose miracles a whole
lifetime would not sufficc to cnumerate, came into the
world, Nimrod saw, in a vision, all his idols overthrown
and heard a voice crying, <'Yo, wo unto them who
turn not to the faith of Abraham l' On t.llC followi ng
m0l11ing he consulted his priests and magicians. 'l"hey
informed him that a child would be born who should
deprive him of his t hrone and his divinity, for Nimrod
had caused himself to be adored as a god. Forthwith,
like IIerod, he ordered all the new·born t hiJdrcn
throughout the kingdom to be murderod. But by the
inspiration of Gabriel, the mother of Abraham secreted
her child in a cave, where he was nourished from the
fh 'e fingers of God. From one of his fingers dropped
p UfC water, from another milk of ambrosial flavor, from

the third honey, from t he i"omth the juice of dates, amI


from t he fifth nectar.
" IUs mother came to sec him, and on e day found
the child in profound meditation.
" ' W ho is my God r inquired he of his m?thcr.
" <Myself,' replied she.
'" And who is thy God r
302 ROUlf AN lA.

~, 'Thy father.'
" , And the God of my father l'
" 'Nimrod.'
'" And the God of Nimrod l'
"His mother, unable to answer the last question,
gave him a box on the car, and remained silent. But
Abraham said to himself, 'I know no other God than
he who hath created the heavens and the carth.'
"Several years afterwards his fath er, who was a
sculptor, charged him with the selling of idols. Abra-
ham carried them in the public p1o.cc, and cried, 'Who
will buy a vile merchandise most prej udicial to whom-
soever may keep it in his house r With this announce-
ment he was sure to return home with all tIle images.
"On a certain day when the inhabitants of the
city w~ gone on a pilgrimage to one of their heathen
edifices, Abraham secretly entered the temple and
broke into pieces seventy-two idols. Arrested and
brought befl'lre Nimrod, he was condemned to be burned
alive--bnrned solemnly npon an immense funeral pil e
of such enormons size that forty days were required to
collect the most combustible materials. The infernal pile
was lighted. Nimrod eansedAbraham to be brought for-
ward, and in sight of the whirlwinds of flame bade him
declare who was his God. 'My God,' responded Abra-
ham, 'is he who hath the power to create and the
power to destroy.'
" 'Then,' cried Nimrod, ' I am God j I hold in my
i
i

i;


TU1~KISII TI!.\llrrlQ XS. 303
hands lifo and dcatll,' and ordering two slaycs to bo
brought he cut off the head of olle and set the other at
liberty.
" 'Thou canst slay,' replied Abraham, 'but thon
callst not make alive. Let them bring me four bi l'ds,
and in the n)lme of my God thon shalt see what miracle
I can accomplish.'
"The fonr birds were brought. Abraham ent them
into a thousand pieces, and then calling each bird by
:ts proper name he bade them come to life, when forth-
with they rose towards the heayens, singing ns they took
their flight.
"Nimrod, whose pride was only irritated by this
miracle, ordered the soldiers to seize Abraham and
throw him into the flames by means of a machine
whose model h ad beell furni shed by Satan himself.
Abraham invoked the aid of God, and instantly the
flames were extinguished. III the place of the fnneral
pile leaped forth a fountain of perfumed water, and
A braham appeared by its side clothed in tl. caftan of
silk bl'ollght by Gabl'icl from Paradise.
"Abraham was so jealous of his wives tllftt he COil-
structed for them a magiccity- a cit.yofiron, whose walls
were so high that the light of the sun could lIot pCllctrntc
within. 11lC sombre rooms of this nncient hm'em, in
which the wives of the Patriarch wcre imprisoned, were
lighted with garlands of pearls and crowlls of diamonds.
Our father Abrnham was a grcat traveller. Sara, his
30! ltOlll£AX L\.

constant companion, I'CiScmblcd E ve, and was so cele-


b rated for her beauty thl)t the P atriarch took the wise
l)l'ccaution of carry ing her in an iron chest.
" Bchold him arrested ono day on the bank of the
J ordan by a custom-house officer who wished to examine
the baggage. The g ood Abraham, carrying no contrn-
band articles, as he believed, allowed h im to prosecute
the search for a time without molestation. But when
the latter caIDe to the chest containing Sara, 'Stop,'
cried the P atriarch, 'suppose that this box is fill ed
with the richest silks, and I pay you ten times the
ordinary tariff1' ' No', replied the officer, whose
sllsp icions werc excited. 'SUP}losc that it is fi lled
with diamonds, and I pay you twenty times the legal
d uty l' 'No!' shouted the ferocious officer, and open-
ing the mysterious chest by a skilful movement of his
nimble fingers he beheld the ideal form of Sara. For
a moment he stood petrified with ad miration, and then
ran away to announce the marvel he had j nstdiscl)vcred.
The wicked king confiscated the rare importation, and
caused Sara t.o enter his palace. Tho s.orl'Qw of Abra-
ham can be more easily imagined thau described.
God, howe,el", moved by tlJC conjugal tenderness of
the Patriarch, caused the walls of the palace to become
transparent, and Ab raham afar off was able to witness
all that took place. W hen the wicked king approached
his beautiful captive, and WfLS about to e mbrace her,
h is outstretched han d wftS stl-uck with palsy.
TtJl!KISII 'filADlTIOXS. 305

'" Away from me!' cried Sara, 'I am the wife of


Abraham !' And tliC king called the Patriarch, asked
pardon for his cullmble intentions, and made him a l)re-
sent of his slave Hagar."
"God be praised for the creation of woman!" ex-
claimed my companions, and then smoked a few
minutes in silence. "redrew more closely around
Kiwb Efti;mdi.
"In conscquence of this a multitude of l)eoplc be-
came believers in the Prophet. Nimrod, thinking
presumptuously to destroy the God of Abraham as he
had attempted to overcome Abraham, ordered a largo
box to be made with an o})orllng towards the earth and
another towards tlle heavens. He then commanded
them to fasten Com rods to the upper corners of the
box, and upon these rods to place pieces of Besh. Four
vultures were then brought and tied to the four feet of
the chest. Armed, and accompanied by Ilis faithfu l
vizier, he soated himself in the chest in order to
make war npon God, whom, in his mgo, he wialled to
annihilate. 'If I gain the victory,' said he, ' 1 shall
be delivered from Abraham, but if I am conqnered
by the God of Abraham, he can reign as I have
reigned over the heavens, the eartll, and their crea-
tures. As soon as the vultures were let loose, they
strove to reach the pieces of flesh abo\'e them, nnd
thereby raised the chest among the clouds. After
a day and a night Nimrod said to his vizier,-
306 R OU)[ ANL\.

'Open the door towards the earth, and tell what thon
seest.'
" 'I sec the earth, 0 Prince, and the dust; replied
the latter. They continued to wander during another
day aod night, aud the vizier again opened the door
towards the earth, and responded to Nimrod, 'What I
behold, 0 King, r esembles smoke.' He was then
ordered to open the door towards the heavens, and
having done so, replied, 'I behold what I saw when
looking upon the earth.' After another day aud night,
when nothing was to be seen either in the direction of
the heavens or the earth, the king drew his bow and
shot aloft three arrows. The Almighty sent baek by
Gabriel the same arrows, after their points had been
stained with blood. ,! have destroyed the God of
Abraham,' cried Nimrod, and forthwith he changed
their direction towards the earth, to which he returned
without harm.
"Nimrod , persisting in his blindnese, att(:mpted
wi th sacrilegious audacity to build a tower that would
reach the stars. H is edifice fell in ruins upon the work-
men. Abraham had already gained a. mnltitude of
disciples, and scorned the power of the king. The
latter collected an army in order to captm·e the prophet;
and resolved to destroy him hy the most cruel punish-
m ent..
" To overcome this proud sovereign Abraham asked
of God only the aid of a fly.
TU:R KIS If TRAl)JTfONS . 307

" I Let 1t be accordi ng to thy desire,' responded the


All P owerful, I but I will send thee an iIiSect scventy
times smaller than the one thou hast mentioned.'
" At the command of the Creator, the ki ng of the
flies collected his winged squadrons, which precipi-
tated themselves npon the soldiers of Nim rod with
such impetuosity as to put them to rout. Nimrod him-
self fl ed, and took refuge in a tower. But a fly pur-
sued, entered with h im , and harassed and sttmg him,
without his being ablc to catch the insect. Nowalight-
ing upon his lips, and then llpon his nose, it at last
penetrated into tbe b rain , and fed upon its substance.
The insect grew and developed itself in a marvellous
manner. The king could get peacc from the dreadful
torment only by baving Ilis head eOllsl'mtly beaten with
heavy mallets. At the end of forty years the head of
N imrod burst opell, and the fly comi ng out as large flS
a pigeon, said to the dying king-
" ' Behold how God can destroy, by one of his
smallest creatures, such as refuse to believe in him.'
" Afte r J acob h a.d listened to the strange dream of
J oseph, he was so oompletely absorbed in his reflections
as not to hear the voice of a beggar who was asking
for alms, and al lowed hi m to go away without receivi ng
anything. F or this momental·Y abstraction he was con-
demned to bitter suffering.
"When the four sons of Jacob, after having sold
their brother, came to relate to thei r fllther that J oseph
308 ROU'MA NIA.

had been devoured by a wolf, 'There are no woh'os m


the cou~t ry ,' exclaimed the P atriarch, unwilting to
know the extent of his misfortune.
" , Ah! thou believcst there arc nOllo,' said onc of
the offenders; 'we will bring thee the very one which
tore our beloved Joseph to pieces.'
"In fact, they did bring in an enormous wolf. But
by the justice of God the beast opened his mouth and said,
, Son of Isaac, do not believe the oaths of these criminal
impostors. I am a wolf of a far off country, and have
wandered about several weeks in search of one of my
little oneS. How could I, who am simply an animal
and experience the tender anguish of animals, how
could I carry away the SOIl of a Prophet of God ~"
"When Joseph llad lived for a time in the house of
Potiphur, IlC became enamored of Zuleika, the wife of
the l;:ing, who also came to love him in return. But he
resisted all her tendersupplicatiolls and fled. P otiphar
would not believe the story illYented by Zuleika for
the purpose of injuring J oseph, and retained him in
his service. The female friends of Znlcika were equ:l.lly
incredulous. To revenge herself she invited them
onc evening to a feast in her palace, and when they
were cutting oranges with sharp knives caused J oseph
to appear suddenly before thelll. So astonished were
they at his marvellous beauty that they all cut their
hands, and did not perccive what had happened until
the table was co\·ercd w~t1l bloOO .
TUl~KlSJ l T1(,\D1TIONS. 300

'" Indeed!' exclaimed Zuleika, exulting over thei r


stupefaction. 'You blame me on account of my love
lor J oseph ! Yes, I l ove this man, whose appearance
has so dazzled you.'
"Potipnar, yielding at last to the instances of hi s
wife, ordered the virtuous J oseph to be imprisoned.
"Behold the termination of this strange history !
Joseph had been raised by the fa\Tor of P otiphar to a
h igh degree of power. One day, when visiting the
granaries provided by him "against the years of fami ne,
he met in the street a female, whose dress, whose pale
face, and suppliant a tti tude indicated a pi tia~le state
of misery. Touched by the sight of snch distress, he
handed her a pm-se of gold, when the womall said to
him, ' I do not merit thy compassion.'
"It. wns Zuleika, who had exercised snch an influence
npon his destiny, bnt so pale and feeble that Joseph
could hardly recognise in her the beautiful wife of
Potiphar. Moved by pity, and doubtless by the tender
sentiment of affection, he cared fo r her as for a sister.
In this new atmosphere she revived like a faded rose
10 which rain and sunshine have been given, and
quickly recovered her lost beaut.y. She was a widow,
having, nfter the death or Potiphar, been dri\'en f!"Om
her painec, and abandoned by all the world. J oseph
loved her in her misfortune j and Zuleika became in
time the wife of her generous benefactor.
" The father of Moses was one of the yjziers of Pha·
310 I:OU1L\KIA.

raoh. Before the Oilih of the P rophet, the heathen


king troubled, like Nimrod, by a dream, ordered all the
ncw-bornjllfants of Egypt to be murdered, and the preg-
nant women to be thrown into the N ile. The bloody
decree was executed. Seven thousand infants were
slain: seven thousand women kissed the waters of the
Nile, J ohabed, the wife of' Amius, alone escaping.
"On the nigh~ in which Moses was born, all the idols
in the Egyptian temples we~ overthrown, and Pharaoh
was troubled by a dream morc dreadful than the former.
New search was made. The soldiers entered the honse
of J ohabcd, who had merely time to cast her son into
an oven before her dwelling was set on nre. 'Vhcn
the soldiers had left, the infant Moses cried: 'Be of
good cheer, mother! God hath saved me from the power
of the flames.'
"But J ohabed, fearing greatly for the safety of her
child, resolved to entrust him to the bosom of the Nile.
On her way to the river she was met by a soldier, who
attempted to raise the lid of the box in which the
infant :Moscs was concealed. At that moment the
earth opened, and swallowed the soldier lip to his chin,
lind a voice exclaimed, 'Let this woman go in peace, or
thou diest.'
" Moses was saved by one of the daughters of Pha-
raoh , and brought up in the palace of the king. At the
age of five years he played with the sceptre of the mon-
arch whose power he was one day to overthrow. He
Tl:I(li:lolI TJUDITIONo. 311

trod the Cl )11'11 ullder his feet, and on one occasion thr<.:w
Pharaoh himself from the throne. After his return
from the Jand of the Midianites, he confou n~ ed by his
miracles the seventy thousand magicians of the king.
" H aving delivered his people from their cruel bon-
dage, Moses was summoned to receive the laws of God,
and the Angel Gabriel raised him so high, that he
plainly distinguished the movement of the kalam (the
pen) with which the sccretary of the celestial host
'~'Tote down the Ten Commandments. In the con-
fidence inspired by such favor from Allah, he asked
that h is nation might become the first p eople upon the
globe. But Allah responded;
'" Thon askest what is impossible. I have already
granted that supremney to the followers of Mohammed,
who shall one day be masters of the universe.'
"Wbile the Israelites were marching to the conquest
of the promised land, Moses, desirous of contemplating
the wondrous works of Q-od, set out 10 travel. TIe
voya~d for thirty years in the east and west, in the
north and the south. After many wanderings in dis-
tant countries, the Patriarch returned to his tribe, but
instead of being received as the wisest of men alHi the
first of legislators, he saw his fame as a prophet and a
traveller eclipsed by the gold of a bankeI'. During his
absence there had risen lip a Ulan among the Israelites
-a man who had never ventured near the flames of
Sinai . alld had not the least admiration for the wonder-
312

ful wo,·ks of creation, but wh,) had sI)cnt his days in


ingenions speculations among the mOlley·ellangers of
the w and~i ng children of Israel. Th is ind ividual be-
came so marvellously rich that forty beasts of burden
were requil·ed to carry mel·ely the k eys wherewith to
unlock his treasmes.
" D espising in his lwi de of wealth the poor Moses,
who rcturned front his travels on foot, h e would not
rccognise him as the lawgiver of lame!. In order to
make him contemptible in the opinion of those who still
retained some feelings of respect and g ratitude for
their ancient l cader, he instituted a process of law
against him, and IoU borned false witnesses. But tJlesc
wi tnesses were stung ill their consciences before the
tribllllal, and p roctt imed the truth. Moses triuml)hed.
'11le people again received him for thei r leader, wh ile
tbe earth opened and swallowed up the banker with nil
his wealth.
"At the age of a hund red and eighty years Moscs
fiaw that he was nigh unto death. " Teepitlg, he asked
of God what would become of his wife :md children.
,,' Go thou,' replied God, 'to the rock 011 the sea·
shore alld strike it witb thy rod.'
"111e rock di\·ided asnnder, and out of it came a
worm, wldch cried three times-
'" Glory to God, the All·Powerful, who hath not
forgotten me iJi my solitude! Praise to God who dost
nourish me!'
TUltKI;;;H Tl~AI)ITlOXS. 313

" Then said God unto him-


'" Behold ! if I care for the worm hid in a lonely
rock upon the seashore, how can I, 0 man, abandon U1Y
children l'
" Allah akbar! A Ualt kcrim, /" (God is great ! God
is merciful!) exclaimed my companions.
" After the death of J oshua," conti nued Kitab
Effendi, "the chiefs of Israel, who had been sorely
beaten in several conflicts with Goliab, assembled to
deliberate upon their sad situation. Them appeared
before them a holy man, Samuel, who declared he was
sent of God.
'" W hat mllst we do to escape destruction r asked
the chiefs of Israol.
'" Yon must renonnee the worship of idols, confess
the truc God, honor your parents, treat your wives with
consideration, and lastly, render homage to the Pro-
phets,' responded Samuel.

" , The P rophets ! WllO arc they l'
'" F irst, Adam, Noah, and Abraham, for whom tho
Lord did great miracles, then Moses and the Prophets
who shall come after me--Jesus the son of Mary, and
Mohammed. Tho testimony of eneh of these is com-
plete in his time, but has been, or will be, set aside by
that of the successor, except in the case of Mohammed.'
'" J esus! Who is he~' demanded tlJ(~ :llld itors.
'" I t is he who luts been annoullced ill thc Tonl (a
Moslem book) as tJIC Word of God. He wi iI be born
14
314 n OUlIANLA.

of a yirgin. Before his birth he will proclaim the im-


maculate nature of his mother and the puissance of the
Creator, then he will cure the sick, raise the dead, and
from a little earth make living animals and birds, The
wicked men of his time will seck to pllt him to death,
but shall deceive themselves in crucifying a common
):101'800 in his stead, while J esus himself will enter glo-
riously into heaven.'
"After giving the lineage and exalted character of
Mohammed, Samuel related to the conclave of Israel
what would happen to the Prophet of Mecca during a
single night. • The angel Gabriel would wake Moham-
med and conduct him to the open country, where he
, would be presented with the miraculous winged horse
Borak, the same which A braham made use of in travel·
Hng from Syria to Mecca. 'JJlis horse has the feet of a
dromedary, thc wings of an eagle, a body of diamond,
and the head of a young girl. Upon his breast he
bears this inscription, I 'JJlCre is but one God, and Mo-
hammed is his Prophet.'
" Mounted upon this animal the Prophet was to
visit Sinai, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, to repeat his
prayers at each place, and then, on sl'\irs of emeralds
and flowers, mount I Ip to the seventh heaven, where be
would be initiated illto all. the mysteries of the creation
and the government of the universe. lIe would there
contemplate the Im.ppy inhabitallts of h eaven, and
look down into the depths ot' hell. The eternal abyss
TunKI Sl1 TI:ADlTIOXS. 315

would reveal to him all the different kinds of tonnents


there inflicted. Those who had oppressed the poor wero
condemned to scratch like fowls in an arid soil which
yielded no nourishment. Usurers and extortioners be·
held their bodies swell from momen t to moment in EL
frightfu l manner, wllile liars, calumniators, and tale·
bearers had their tongues and lips twinched every
instant with red hot nippE:rs of fire.
'" Between heaven and hell,' continued Samuel,
I Mohammed shall see Abraham, the father of Ole faith·

ful, who smiles whenever the gatcs of heaven are


opened, and weeps when a new victim is cast into hell.
lIe shall behold the bappy inhabitants of heaven recl in·
ing 011 voluptuous couches under silken 1)8vilions and
eating from vessels of silver and gold the richest viands,
of which the last morsel shall be as acceptable to the tasto
as the first. Then will be pointed out to him the Pool
of J~ife, whose waters dispel thirst for ever, and the tree
of Toba, so large that the Heetcst horse cannot .cross its
shadow in a hundred years, whose branches are hUllg
with the most delicious fru its and moved in dulcet har-
mony by the soft winds of hellven. H e shall look
down upon the blissful fields of Paradise, strewn with
pearls and diamouds and beds of musk, where among
perpetual fountains and in the eool shade, the faithful
shall be seryed by black--eyed houris, beautiflll without
blemish, and subject neither to age nor death.'
,,~W e believe in God and his Prophets,' replied the
316 ROUMANLA.

chiefs of Israel. 'Pray for us, and deliver U8 from


Goliah.'"
Solomon, however, is the great fa\'oritc of the Ori-
cntals. They invest his character with all that is mar-
vellous in eastern fiction.
"Tell us of Solomon," said a Turkish merchant at
my side, charging h is long chibouque for the dozenth
time, "tell us of Solomon, 0 Kitab Effendi!" A little
flame still flickered upon the hearth, and the strange
shadows on the wall became less distinct. The venera-
ble Mussulman resumed his story-
"The night in which Solomon came into thc world,
the angel Gabriel cried, ' A child is born to whom IbUs
and all the demons shall be subj ect.' H e was endowed
with such sagaeity that when a mere youth be instructed
his father in the most difficult things, and one day eOD-
fOWlded all the doctors of the law.
"After the death of his father, eight angels with
innumerable wings of all forms and colors came and
bowed down three times before h im.
" 'Who are you r demanded Solomon.
'" We are the angels of the eight winds of Ule
earth,' answered they. 'To thee we do homage. Call
us when thou wilt., and we will breathe the soft zephy rs
or wake the tempest. Cast this stone into the air, and
forthwith we shall be in thy presence.'
"The eight angels then disappeared, and fourothel'8
came. ' W e go\·cm,' said they, 'all tile animals in tho
TURKT8Tl TRADITIONS. 317

air, on tJm earth, and in the waters under the eartJl.


When thOll wilt have liS appear place this upon thy
head,' and one of the angels gave him II. talismanic
stone with the inscription, 'All creatlrn!s praise the
Lord.'
"Solomon directed tJle angels to assemble before
him a pair of all the different species of animals. In
the twinkling of an eye h is wish was accomplished, and
the beings of creation presented themselves, from the
monstrous elephant down to the smallest wonu. Then
the great king with royal benevolence spoke with his
legions of subjects, and listened to their complaints.
The legislator of mell, he also became the legislator of
animals, condemning their evil habits ~nd refonning
the abuses of their government&.
"But Solomon took most pleasure in conversing
with the birds of tllC nir, for he understood all t11C
varieties of their melodious language and the sage
maxims of the beloved little musicians of the good God.
" 'For many creatures it were better not to Ii ve,'
sighed tJlC melancholy dove.
" 'To be content with one's lot is the greatest of
blessings,' sang tJlC nightingale.
'" Be just and thou shalt be recompensed,' cried the
lark.
'" Death will come at last,' screamed the eagle.
'" Think of thy Creator, 0 vain mortal,' chanted
the martial cock.
318 ROUMANIA.

"Solomon was eSI)ccially delighted with the pigeon,


and invited it to make its home on t1w walls of the
Temple, which he was about to build. A few years
afterwards the pigeons had multiplied so greatly, that
their extended wings formed a shady pavilion over the
innumerable bands of l)iigrims wh o came up to J er u-
salem on the occasion of the great fcasts.
"Still another angel appeared before Solomon, and
gave him a diamond, with t he inscription-I There is
but one God, and Mohammed is his P rophet.'
'" By virtue of this stone,' said the angel, ' thou
shalt rule over the djinns, who belong to the world of
spirits, and arc far morc numerous than all the men
and animals on the earth together. TIley were created
angels of light, but having fallen, were banished from
the presence of God. The world was inha.bited by the
djinns seventy thousand years before the creation of
man. Some of them acknowledge the true God, while
others, plunged into the errors of idolatry, worship fire,
and adore the sun and the stars. The former hovcr
perpctually around good men to protect them j the
latter, on the oontrary, ever seck to do them harm.'
"By the talismanic influence of this ring Solomon
subdued the entire race of the djinlls. lIe obliged
them to build palaces and to erect a temple after the
m.odel of the KaalJa of Mecca. The female djinn8
wove garments of wool and silk for the poor of J erusa·
lem. They were also required to roast every day thirt.y
TURKISH TRADITIONS. 319

thousand oxen and thirty thousand sheep, besides innu-


merable birds and fishes, all of which were placed upon
tables several miles in length. The djinna sat down
at tables of iron, the poor at tables of wood j at
tables of silver were seated the chiefs of the army and
the high officers of govemment, while the men distin·
gu ished for their piety and wisdom were served by
Solomon himself at tables of pure gold.
"But with all the favors heaped upon him Solomon
was not proof against pride. While regarding one day
the multitudes enjoying bis feasts, he exclaimed in a
moment of blindness, 'Would that God w()uld permit
me to feed for a si ngle day all the animals of the
earth I'
'" What th()u w()uldst d() is impossible,' responded
God j 'but thou mayest attempt it: I will permit thee
to begin to-morrow with the inllabitants of the sen.'
"Solomon ordered the djinns to load a hundred
thousand camels and a hundred thousand mules Witll
grain and fruits i then he went down to the seashore
and cried with a loud voice-
" 'Come ye, who reside in the depths of the waves,
come and I will satisfy your hunger!' Then there came
to the surface of tlle waters swarms of fishes to which
they threw sacks of grain until all were satisfied. Bnt
suddenly there appeared a whale as large M a moun-
tain. Solomon threw to him hundreds of loads of
fnlit and grain, aud continually the insatiable monster
320 ROUlU.Nl,A.

opened, his month for more. At last the provision was


all gone, and the whale eried-
'" Give me, gi,·e me whereof to eat, never have I
suffered such hunger!'
'" Ah!' cried Solomon, overwhelmed with astonish-
ment, 'are there many of thy species in the sea"
'" Many~' replied the monster, 'there are seventy
thousand, of whom the smallest is of such a size that
thou wouldstdisappear in his bowels like a groin of sand
in the desert.'
"At these words Solomon fell upon his face, and
weeping, prayed God to pardon his wicked presump-
tion.
"Behold how the great king travelled to Mecca and
Medina. .A. silk caq>et was woven by the djinM four
leagues in extent. Upon tbis carpet they placod the
throne of Solomon, and around it seats of gold and
silver for the multitude of persons who were to accom-
pany him. When all the prel)arations had been com-
pleted, Solomon seated himself llpon his throne, and
commanded the winds to do their duty. They trans·
ported the aerial carln'an, and at the same time a clond
of birds with extended wings fonned a sllady canopy
over the bead of the king and his companions.
"While returning to Jenlsalem the Patriarch per-
ceived, from a single ray of sunshine piercing tllTough
the winged pavilion, that a bird was wanting at his
post. H e demanded of the cagle the name of the de-
TUItKTSII TRAOITIONS. 321
linquent, and the eagle, having called over the names
of all the birds, announced tile desertion of the lapwing.
An instant afterwards the L'lpwing appeared, trembling
and bowing down his head in the presenee of the great
king.
'" I have dono wrong,' said the bird, 'and merit
punishment.'
'" Explain thyself,' answered Solomon, who was
angry, but would not condemn the delinquent without
a hearing.
'" At Mecca,' continued the lapwing, 'I met with a
bird of my acquaintance, who gave me sneh a picture
of the marvels of t he kingdom of Saba (Sheba) that I
eould not resist the desire of visiting that country. I
have seen the treasures of that land, which, 0 king,
thou shouldst conquer, and its queen Balkis, the most
beautiful woman of the universe.'
"Struck with this recital of the wandering bird,
Solomon at once wrote a letter to qneen Balkis, engag-
iug to convert her to the true faith.
"The offending lapwing was his messenger.
"The queen of Saba read the letter and then assem-
bled her viziers for their advice. But they declared
that as no one equalled her in wisdom, no one could
venture to counsel her in so important a matter.
'" Well I' exclaimed Balkis, ' I shall know whether
hc is a prophet or not. I will send Gim the most mag-
nificent presents, and if he be dazzled by thorn it will
14*
822 IWU)IAN fA .

prove that he is not superior to other men. I will pro--


pose to him different questions, and if he be not able to
answer them surely he is a false prophet.'
" H er ambassadors set out for Jerusalem with a
thousand carpets woven with gold and silver, a crown
of fin e pearls, and the precious products of Arabia the
Blest. They carried likewise a casket containing a
pearl that had not been l)ierccd, a diamond though
which passed a tortuous hole, and a cup of crystal.
Balkis demanded that Solomon should l,iercc the pearl,
pass a tlll'cad through the d iamond, and fill the cup
with water obtained from neither the heavens nor the
earth.
"Solomon having been informed of these th ings
caused the djin1UJ to weave carpets that werc m:lny
miles in length, and still more magnificent, and also
build walls of gold nnd silver. At the sight of these
marvels the ambassadors of Balkis did not e ven venture
to show their presents, and could hardly be prevailed
npon to open the casket. Solomon at once l)ierced the
pearl by means of a powder provided by the djiml$.
ITe ordered a slave to leap upon one of his fleetest
horses, and from the sweat that ran down its flanks IlC
fillcd the crystal enp with water which came neither
from the heavens nor the earth. The third problem
was the most difficult. Bllt he passed a thread through
the sinuosities of 'he diamond by means of a minute
wonn which drew tllC thread after itself, and tllencc-
TURKISIf TI!ADmONS. 323

forth, by way of recompense, was fed upon the leaves


of the mulberry.
"Solomon then scnt word to the queen of Saba that
if she did not renounce the worship of idols and sub-
mit to his power he would ovelTUll her country with a
fonnidable anny. Upon the return of her envoys she
at once sct out for Jerusalem in order to abjure idolatry
and acknowledge the supremacy of Solomon. lIe
awaited with impatience the young queen whose beauty
had been praised with so much enthusiasm.
"But a singular report embarrassed the sovereign
of Jenumlem. It was wh ispel·ed in secret tllat the
ideal form of the Sabeau queen terminated in tlle llgly
feet of a quadruped . lIow was Solomon to learn the
truth without giving offence 1 He could not say to the
queen, 'Show me thy feet, 0 Balkis!' In place of tlw
floor of the hall where he was to reeei ve her, he
arranged a transparent crystal under which ran limpid
water. Balkis, when stepping upon the crystal, sup-
posed that she had to eross a stream, and graciously
raised her robes j and the king, who was watching with
uneasy solicitude, perceived under the silken folds of
her gannents tIle most beautiful feet in the worlcl. A
few days afterwards Balkis became the wife of Solo-
mon.
"Would that he had remained faithful to the com·
mandments of God! But the great king, who had
once failed throug h pride. was destined to fall again by
32< noUM'ASU .•

the passion of lovc. lie became enamored of the


daughtcl' of a heathen king, who int roduced ber idols
into the IHLlacc of Solomon, where the tr ue God alone
should have been adored. A djinn took away his ring,
his robes, and his sceptre, and having assumed the fonn
of the king, installed himself upon the throne. Solo-
mOil, despised by his ministers and insulted by his own
servants, was driven from the palace, and for forty days
wandered in the desert a prey to the most bitter reftec-
tions. But as he Jlad not taken part in the idolatry
himself, the Lord had com})assion u pon him and restored
him, greatly enlightened by his errors, to his former
power.
"Solomon had thus ruled ovm' his \"88t empire a
great number of years when ono day the angel of death
appeared before him. The G reat K ing demanded of
him how the term of life is marked off for different
individuals.
" , It is hardly p ermitted me to stop in the work in
which l am constantly engaged,' replied the angel, 'but
I cannot refuse th e favorite of God an explanation.
Know thon that I am only the messenger of another
angel, whose head reaches ten thousand years' jonrney
above the seventh heaven, and whose foot nre plunged
the distance of five hundred yenrs' j ourney into the
bowels of the eartb. This angel whose name is Osrein
is so strong that, if God would permit hi m, he could
easily overthrow the globe with a 8in~le hand. lIe it
•i

Tt;ItKISil ntADil'lONS. 325

is who indicates to me the plnee whence I have a 50111


to take. lie has his eyes constantly fixed upon the
Sidrat,..Al-Munlaha, the t.ree of life, which bears as
many leaves as there are human beings. When a child
is born a new leaf puts forth with his llame upon it;
when his last hour is come the leaf withers and is
plucked by Osrcin.'
" I And the inferior angels,' continued Solomon,

'how arc they employed i'


"' Two of them keep watch upon every mortal, one
on the right hand and the other on the left. They ob-
serve every word and action; and at the end of the day
are relieved by two other angels and fly IIp to heaven.
The angel on the right side records every good action,
and when the mortal commits a sin says to the angel
on the left, "Forbear for seven hours to record it; per-
adventure he may repent, and ,obtain forgi,·cness.'"
" , H ow dost thou collect the souls of mell r inqlli red
Solomon, 'and what becomes of them during Buzak,
the interval of time betwccn the tribunal of the sepul-
chre and thc resurrection i'
'" For the examination or the sepuLchre,' answered
the angel, 'the soul reenters the body. If the person
has been just it is again drawn gently out of llis mouth;
otberwise it is beaten out of him with dreadful blows.
The bodies of the dead remain in their graYes, hilt thei r
souls have a foretaste of the doom that awaits them in
dlocams and visions. Those of the faithful llOver near
326 ROUlI ANIA.

their sepulchres in a. state of felicity, or wrapped up in


silk cloths, are placcd in charge of a bird which will
watch them in Paradise until the day of judgment.
The spirits of the martyrs euter into the erops of green
birds that feed on the fruits and drink of the streams
of heaven, while the souls of those with whom God
has been most pleased become as snow·white birds and
ncstlc llildcr his throne. The souls of the wicked arc
tied up in sacks of tarred cloth, and cast down to the
gatc of perdition, where they shall remain in misery
until the resurrection.'
"'The angels-will they also die l' inqnired Solo-
mon.
" 'All beings shall die at thc blast of extermination,
first men and then angels. At the second sound of the
trumpet of Israfil, Michael and Gabriel shall fall by my
band, and I, Azrael, the angel of death, then perish
under tlw eyes of the Almighty. Throughout the vast
extent of creation God only will exist. He will then ex·
claim, "To whom belongs the earth 1" and no beiug
shall answer. But after forty years of rain and dark·
ness the trumpet shall sound again and the dead shall
awakc, anf,1'CIs first and men afterwards.'
'" Who among men shall awake first l' demanded
Solomon.
'" Mohammed tllC Prophet. Israfil, Gabriel, and
the other angels will repair to Medina and cry, " Come,
o most beautiful Rild purest of souls! rean imate thy
TUiliUSU TRADITIONS. 327

body , which is without blemish." Then he shall come


out of his tomb. Gabriel will p resent to him the
winged Borak, and gi ve him a standard and a crown
Bent for that purpose from Paradise. "Come, thon
chosen of the Lord," " voice shaH exclaim, " already is
Eden spread with flowers, and the Mum await thee."
Then the rest of mankind will awake from their slcep
of death and be conducted to the Valley of Jehosaphnt
for the last judgment.
" ' That will be a terrible day when each one shall
think only of himself. "0 God!" Adam will cry,
"save me! save me I impnte to me neither the iniquity
of Eve nor that of Abel." "Preserve me from hell,"
Noah will pray, " and do unto my ehildren what seem-
eth good unto thee." Abraham shall say, "I invoke
thee not for Ishmael nor for Isaac, I invoke thee, 0
God, only for myself." In that dread hour M oses will
forget his brother Aaron. Mohammed alone shall pray
for all the world. The day of judgment shall be pre-
ceded by signs and p ortents. There will be a total
eelipse of the moon, ilie sun shall rise ont of the west,
and the earth be enveloped in smoke. Men shall even
envy the quiet of the grave.
'" At the sound of the trumpet of Israfil the earth
will tremble and the mountains be levelled with the
plains. The moon, the sun, and the stars shall fall into
the sea, and the firmament melt away. TI le earth will
then open Rnd the souls fl y in q uest of the ir bodics.
328

The dry bones of the dead will rattle, the scattered


limbs be brought together, and the very hairs of their
lleads congregate.
'" The duration of the day of judgment shall be an
age. It shall be a day of sighs and griefs, a day of
tribulation and anguish, when the cup of sorrow and
misery mllst be drunk, even to the very dregs thereof.
To the perverse and the ungodly every thing shall be-
come as aloes and bitterness. For them there will not
be one moment of repose. They shall behold nothing
agreeable, hear no voice that Sl1811 deligllt, while their
terrified imagina.tions will represent to them only
s})ectres and tortures, and the howl ings of demons.
"'Then Mohammed will intercede for his people.
'" After the final judgment, made according to good
works without distinction of persons, all mankind must
prepare for the inevitable passage of Sind, the sharp-
edged bridge of seven arches. This bridge is three
thousand years' j ourney in length , narrow as the thread
of a spider's web and sharp 118 the edge of a sword. It
requires a thousand years to ascend the fi rst side, a
thousand to cross over, and a thousand more to descend.
They who make the entire passage shan be admitted to
the j oys of paradise, hut infidels and all wicked persons
shall fall into perdition from the different arches. The
faithful shall, however, at last all be redeemed."
" Good God 1" exclaimed my companioDs, "how
dreadful to our sight will this formid able bridge appear I
TURKISII TRADITIONS.

What virtue! what secret grace from the Most nigh


sllall we not need!
"'Tell me,' continued Solomon, 'when slw,n the
rcsurTection come Y'
"'God only knows,' replied the angel of death, and
baving answered Solomon, lie prepared to carry away
his soul.
"'Canst thou not l)rolong my life until thc comple-
tion of the~emple f'
"'No,' responded the angel, 'thy hOllr is come.'
" 'The win of God be done, but let my death be
unknown to the dji11lJl8 until they have completed tile
bou8e of God.'
"The angel removed the soul of the Great King,but
bis body was left seated upon the throne, clotlled in
royal robes and an the insignia of office. Thc]'c it
remained in the usnal position of the monarch, the races
of men and genii paying their customary homage at a
respectful distance, until the staff upon wbieh the corpse
leaned had been gnawcd by the worms, and gavc way
so that the body fell to the ground.
"Until the time of Mohammed," continued Kitab
Effendi, '" the Bngel of death appeared to mortals in a
bodily form. But when he came for the soul of the
Prophet, the latter said to him, '0 Azrael, thou art
terrible to behold! It is not proper that thou shollidst
thus show thyself to mortal men, for it can easily 11al)
pen that they die from excessivc fright before having
330 ROIDIANIA.

said their prayers. I am a man of courage, but conCe.


that I cannot look upon thee without .0. shudder.'
" He then besought God that Azracl might become
a spirit, and his prayer was granted."
At a late hour we spread our mats upon the floor
and lay down to rest. The escort and one or two
Turks who tarried with us all night slept soundly with
their yataghans by their sides. My repose, however,
was disturbed by hideous phantoms whil!'b had their
origin in the abominations of the Turkish cuisine, but
borrowed t]1C forms of the hide-bOlmd quadrupeds in
the adjoining chamber, whose spasmodic breathing har-
monized admirably with the snoring of my prostrate
compamons.
CHAPTER xII I.
UFE IN n ULOARIA •

.. By rQreign handa thy dying oyes were cJ()!ICd,


By foreign hands thy decent limb!! composed,
By rOl'<)ign handa thy humblo gravo adorned,
By strangers buried, and by strangers mourned."

WE left Bashardshik at an early hour, and the araba.
wound slowly up an elevation east of the city to reach
the table land which stretches away towards tllC Euxine.
It was a morning of autumnal freshness. A cool wind
crept down from the 13alkans, and never did my pulses
throb WitJl a sweeter or heartier life!
Near the city gate we passed by an old Turkish
fountain , calling to mind the palmier days of Islam. A
group of white-anned, laughing girls had assembled
there, who fled as we approached. They may bave
been the naiads of the fountain. Melpomene and 111a-
lia would not have tripped away more g racefully over
the dewy velvet.
I have frequ ently noticed Tnrkish boys as bcantiful
as Astyauax. Ottoman children of both sexes arc in-
deed remarkable fo r their beauty, as well as for the
332 • l WUllAN IA •

sweetness and dignity of their behavior. The latter


arise from their b eing brought up in the harem. The
father takes little l)art or interest in their education,
and the young mind is left entirely to the sweet influ-
ences of matemal love, which is unusually strong in
Oriental society, from the fact that female life is con-
fined to a llarrow and exclusivc sphere . Filial and
matemal affection, retained through life and touching~y
manifested on all occasions, is the result of this training.
From the strong admixture of Circassian blood, and
to a limited extent that of the Greeks, the Turkish is,
perhaps, the !nost perfect type of the human race.
F reedom from excitement, political or moral, exemption
from the corroding cares of business and that happy
alliance of movement and repose in the open air, which
the Turk so much loves, conduce to the develop ment of
manly beauty, and arc highly favorable to longevity.
The Moslems, among whom I moved, silent and statn-
esque men of the graceful beard and flowing robes of
the Orien tals, combined the dignified bearing of an an-
cient Athenian with the majestic gravity of a Roman
Senator.
The confined and frctfnllife of the harem is, on the
contrary, destructive to female ehanns. Matried at the
age of twelve or fifteen years, Turkish ladies become
ugly at twenty-fi\'~, unendurable at forty. Their mode
of dress also seems to rcnder the beautiful less beauti-
fu l, the uncomely more u ncomely. Moreover, their
LU'I<; IN B ULGARIA. 333

unangelie way of sitting cross-armed anci cross-legged


after the manner of their lords, gives them distorted
spinal columns and round shoulders, while the uni \'ersal
habit of smoking contributes to couvert the rich tints
of Circnssiall beauty into the sallow wrinkles of prema-
ture age_
The Indians believe that deformed bodies are p risons
into which souls arc cast for great crimes committed in
a former life. Among the Turks, who contend that a
base soul must inhabit a deformed body, th e cultivation
of physical strength and beauty is held to be tlIe highest
duty after the chief points of religion.
As we advanced I observed a large number of
tumuli scattered over the plain, many of which were
of considerable size. They resembled those found along
the lower Danube and on the steppes of R ussia, and
belong to that class of rude but very ancient mOlluments
existing in almost every part of the world, from the plains
of Central Asia to the prairies of the far W est. The 1\lrks
call these conical mounds, Tepe, the Bulgarians, Kunka,
or g raves of th<? Huns. Their resemblance to the P elas-
gian tumuli and to the mounds along the Volga and the
Mississippi indicates that all nations have like concep-
tions of art at like periods of their development. .A.
religious idea may have suggested the erection of some
of them. I have not unfrcquently seen mounds of the
shape, as nearly as possible, of animals known to have
been worshipped in ancient times, but for the most part
334 ROUM.ANIA .

they arc doubtless simple monq.mcllts to mark the rest-.


ing-places of the dead. R ecent excavations in the
tumuli of Bessarabia have disclosed, asis supposed, the
tombs of the ancient Sarmatian kings. A sk the Bulga.
rian peasant who erected them, and he will answer,
"God only knows." The Turks say that they are sim-
ply elevations marking the sites of Ottoman camps on
which were formerly displayed the horse-tail sandjaks
of victorious sultans and 1'achas. My imagination,
however, associated tJwsc mysterious monuments with
ancient Scythian heroes and Bulgarian kings. As I
looked upon them I thought of those claE.8ic souvenirs
of the friendship of Achilles and Patroclus on the plain
of Troy-of the lofty mound believod to contain the
ashes of the son of P elellS-but now, as in days of old,
guiding to the R hootian port-

., Sea-wandering barks that o'er the.Ai:gean sail,


With pennants streaming to the southern ga1e."

These silent watchmen of the Bulgarian plain may


have witnessed aflieux as touching as those of Hector
and Andromache; heroes as noble as Ajax and TIus
may sleep beneath them j but unlike Ajax Telamon
and the Trojan king, their deeds have been embalmed
in no immortal Diad_
Now and then from an elevated point I looked down
upon the low and immense Dobrudsha stretching away
in the distance, like
LJI-'J<; IN lHi LGA1tIA. 335
"that Scrooni1l1l bog
Where armies wholo havo sunk."

It is intersected by Trajan's wall, built centuries ago


and extending from the point where the Danube makes
a sudden sweep towards Moldavia, to Kostendji on the
Black Sea, while far beyond, at the north, the Danube
itself flows into the Eu:dne. The extended plains, or
rather morasses, of the D obrudsha are well wooded, but
want the magnolia to make them equal to the low banks
of the Mississippi and the Savannah. The soil is ex-
ceedingly fertile, the atmosphere humid and insalubri-
ous. The inhabitants, numbering some sixteen thousand
families, represent not less than sixteen nationalities, but
the majority are of Tartar origin, whose ancestors were
driven from the Crimea during the convulsions which
preceded and attended the incorporation of that penin-
sula into the Russian empire.
They exercise faithfully tho laws of hospitality pre-
seribed by the Koran. When a. traveller enters one of
their villages, the heads of the families dispute among
themselves the honor of receiving and entertaining him
gratuitously for three days.
Among them there arc not far from 10,000 Cossacks,
descended from famili es who fled from the Ukraine after
the fall of Mazeppa, their leader, and Charles XII.
Though fixed to the soil and become farmers like tho
Bulgarians, they stiU exhibit traces of their aneicnt
nomadic lifc. Like their ancestors, they ])ray and
336 ROUMANIA.

preach in tho open air. They also cherish a profonnd


antipathy toward the Russians. Their ancestors sought
refuge in the Dobrudsha, while others of the same race
wandered round the shore of the Euxine to the mouth
of the Halys in A.natolia, but the fact of their having
escaped did nol sa...·c them as weU as Mazeppa, then
dead, from being excommunicated by the RUSBian Em-
press. Catharine f()rbadc even to pronOlUlcc their nWIle
in holy nussia. It is from this region that the Tartar
couriers employed in Turkey arc generally selected, and
both Tartars and Cossacks have been organized into
light cavalry regiments for the Ottoman service by
Saydik. Pasha.
'VhCll the Russians last withdrew from Bulgaria
several hundred Cossack and Tartar families were in
part persuaded, in part"compelled, to follow them to the
Pruth. There, howc\'cr, they wero cruelly abandoned.
,Vhile travelli ng in Wallachia I often met bands of
them wandel'iug from village to village, and begging
piteously fol' bread.
At :\ great distance to the southward loomed up
isolated mountain-peaks, the forerullllers of the lIremus
Moming and evening when tho sUIl-god whirled his
flaming chariot above the Euxine, or when his panting
steeds traversed the fiery chambers of the wcst toward
far-{lff Atlantis, they were sprc:ld with cloths of gold as
if the Olyml)ians had been assembled 0 11 their summit,
for royal ball'luets. Now the storms pierced their

LIFE J~ IH;I.GAIHA. 33 7

quivering flanks with darts of lightni ng and wep t floods


of crystal tears in a rage or in penitence, and thon the
clouds, the smiling daughters of old Ocean, winging
their way up the sky on the soft wind threw their fleecy
mantIc around those frowning brows llS girlish innocence
will sometimes throw a veil over the face of bleeding,
shame-stricken age.
The terrai1~ over which I was passing had been con·
secrated to bloody Mars. By a strange fatality the
children of the Occident and the Orient have repeatedly
lUet on the plains of Eastern Europe to fight the deci-
sive battles of the world, Wllat l egions have trodden
her soil in the ebb and flow of conquest!

"Ono sanguine tide scarce rolled away,


Another lIow8 in quick succession."

After the fall of Silist!"ia and the capitulation of


Varna, in 1829, the R ussian General, Diebitsch, con-
ceived the bold plan of leaving the Grand-Vizier in the
intrenched camp of Shumla, and by crossing the Bal-
kans, strike a blow at the very heart of the Ottoman
Empire. This hardy achievement, which gave him the
Ilame of Zabalkanski (Crosser of the Balkans), was
executed, and carried dismay among the Ottomans.
Th e R ussian General procured a favorable treaty of
peace at Adrianople, Il.lthough his scrvicell.blc fQrce did
not amount to more than 15,000 mCIl, an Il.rrny which
15

338 lWt;MA..'HA .

the Turks would haye despised had they known its real
strength.
Darius, in his memorable expedition against the
Scythi:ms morc th:tll twenty-three centuries ~, also
crossed the Balkans, but in an opposite direction. He
passed the Danube, u.s he had already tll(~ Thracian
Bosphorus, on a bridge of boats, but his immense anny
soon melted away in the swamps of Moldavia, beneath
clouds of Scythian arrows. Forced to retreat, the
monarch overran Thrace and Maccdon.ia-to have his
hosts ehi vered in battle by the Greeks on the plain of
Marathon. H linyad crossed the Balkans from north to
south, in the year 1443, and the Sultan Amuratb fifty-
three years earlier in the opposite direction.
There arC many souvenirs of the poet O vid in East-
ern E urope. The IIungarian lloinls proudly to his
supposed tomb at Szombathely. The 'Vallaehian pea--
sant) able at this day to comprehend the language of
Ovid, conducts the traveller to his so-called tower and
prison at Kan:msebes in the valley of Tomes, which,
according to the tradition of the country, the Roman
soldiers hastened to visit wIwn l'rajan led them into
Daeia_ A smaU lake in n cssarabi~\ still bc:l.TS the name
of the poot. Thero is a tradition tllat he learned
the language of the Gotm and composed poems that
moved the hearts of the barbariar,s. 'lllC poet himself
says-
"Didlci gcticc aarmaticoquo loqul."
LIFE I X J;ULGAI:IA. 339

The peasants relate that there once came to their


country, from the ba nksof a fnr-off !'i ver, a man who com-
bined the goodness of a parent and the sweetness of a
ch ild. H e sighcd continually, but when sl)eaking to
anyone honey seemed to flow from his lips. Even Von
l-Iammer, the prince of Oricntalists, was unable to locate
with certainty Tom i, the place of the poet's exile and
death. I t was probably on the Euxine, nor lh of Varna,
near Ovidipol.
I know nothing more sad than Ovid's PI'1~tia, writ-
ten in this distant region and fairly p erfumed with
tearful memories of his native land. A gifted son of
Italy, cnriched with the best culture of classic Athens,
Ovid was the sweetest and most subtle of that tuneful
throng which Augustus assembled at his Court, nomi-
nally to enjoy the Imperial patronage, but i.n reality to
clothc in the most seductive coloring the despotism he
was introduciIlg in Rome. H e became frivolous and
licentious, and wishing to reduce to a system the" Art
of Love," published a poem under that title. The im-
morali ty of th is work was the ostensible cause of h is
banishment to Scythia, but as the Augustan age was 1I0t
remarkable for virtu e in high places, the Roman Empe-
1"01' doubt less had rensons for banishing the lmthor of tho

" Art of Love," wh ich have n ever been made known


'111e plaintive songs of Ovid moved a world to tcnl'S, but
could soften neither the inflexibJe Allgnstus nor his
successor, Ti beri us. H e spent the last fift.cen ycars of
8<0

his life on Ule inhospitable shores of the Pontus Euxinus,


ever sighing for the- soft skies of I taly, for that Rome
whose glory was at the same time the subject and the
inspiration of his verses. Let those who would I;leify
tyrants by prostituting genius to their praise, and are
willing to kiss the Land that has smitten them to the
dust, remember the fate of Publins Ovidius.
I expected to reach Vama by night, but for the first
time among the Turks was agreeably disappointed.
On ascending the crest of an elevated ridge early in the
afternoon I beheld all at once the Black Sea bounding
the eastern horizon-Varns stretched out like a map
at my feet, and its harbor filled with vessels belonging
to the allied fleets. Tludatta! tllalatta! I cried, after
having traversed Europe, and was as much delighted to
behold the Euxille as were the Ten Thousand under
Xenophon to look upon its glad waters after their retreat
from the Euphrates. The point from which I began to
descend was at least 300 feet above the level of the
sea. Vama appear<:d to be not more than a mile dis-
tant, but the araba. required two long hours to reach the
city gate. At my right was the little ri\'er Devna, along
which the English and Fr<:llch had previously encamped.
Beyond this stream and the twin lakes th rough which
it rUllS, was the higll ridge that terminates in the pro-
montory of Galata. 111e Emperor N icholas encamped
upon the latter in 1828, but it was now dotted with the
white tents of a rct:.';'roent of the Nizam.
LIFE IN n ULO ARJA. 341
There are several large swamps in the immediate
vicinity of Varna, and a more fatal place could not
have been selected for thc rendezvous of the allied
troops. That, however, was but one of the errors on
the part of the Allies which marked the progress of the
Eastern question through the entanglements of cabinets
and the stratagems of camps.
P eace to the ashes of the brave thousands smitten
down by disease along the lethean Devna! Im})atient
of glory, they were condemned to an inglorious death
by men unfit to lead the armies in the Orient-men less
accustomed to the camp and the tented field than to the
more Paphian warfare of St. James and the Tnileries.
Says Aristophanes : "11lC laws of A thens am discnssed
by sages and executed by fools." In reference to the
E astern war it migllt be said with equal truth: " Patri.
cian fools discnsse<fin London and Paris, and plebeian
heroes executed on the bloody fields of Alma and
Inkermann." And comparing the painful incfliciency
of Lords and Dukcs with the heroic conduct of Miss
Nightingale, we may aptly use the words of Xerxes
after the battle of SaJamis: "In this conflic t men have
acted like women, and women conducted themselves
like men."
Varna, the ancient Odyseum founded by JJilesian co-
lonists, is the best portofBulgaria,buthas not the strategic
importance ofScLumla. For that reason mainly it hns not
recovered from the effects of the Russian siege in 1828.
ROUHAN lA.

The Crty wall, outside ofwhieh are extensive barracks,


is mounted with some two hundred pieces of artillery.
The defences are milch stronger on the sea than on the
land side, and where it is practicable the wall is snr--
r ounded by a deepfosse. TIle city has a population of
17,000 souls, and is the residence of a Greek Metro-
politan.
A fe'v English an d F rench t\'oops were still posted in
Varna. to supply tJlC Commissariat in the Crimea. Selim
set me down at the Turkish K han, where I was obliged
to remain for want of better tlecommodations. On my
arrival I called lll)on the Englisl1 Cons111, who agreed
with me that Americans are great travellers. l 11CFrench
had done something in the way of naming the streets
and numbering the house. "Rue Rivoli, Place Con-
COIyk," and other familiar French names rem inding one
of magnificent r aris, apl)eured, howe,'er, rather ont of
place when applied to the filthy lanes and muddy cor-
nel's of detestable Vama. I fonnd myself among shar-
pers and adventu rers of every religion, language, and
color.
W hile wanderil1g one day over this chequered
mosaic of nationalities-this pandemoni um of war and
crime, of filth and wretehedness-I encountered a
scene of which only ' Vestem civilization ean boast,
which was Oriental only in the accident of its locali ty.
A f(Jw dissolute women who spoke the 11l11guage of V ic-
! ..;" bnt in whoso })crsons V cnns and Bacchus had
LIFE IN nur.oAJUA. 3<3
un ited their worst characteristics, werc engaged In a.
drunken brawl in thc open street with a number of
Scotch and Irish dragoons. The French police were
attempting
, to abat() the nuisance, and tllCir elegant
" .Ecoutez, HesdeTrwiseUe8,. venez clu;z '1U)U8," seemed
wasted when addressed to these pugnacious courtesans
following in the track of war. A crowd of long~beardcd
Mussulmans had collected to gaze on that strangG
embodiments of West em civiliz.."ltion in their midst. I
shall not soon forget how these turbaned philoso-
phers shook their heads and turned away in disgnst,
saying, "0 Allah, the Merciful, deliver us from
the faults of our friends. By the beard of the
Prophet, one Mussulman maiden is worth more
than seven of the most beautiful daughters of the
unbelievers."
The Koran forhids the use of intoxicating drinks.
The law of Islam is capable, however, of an clastic
interpretation, and there are those among the faithfu l
who contend that the interdiction is against the abuse,
rather than the usc of alcohol. But, withstanding modern
innovations, the great majority of Moslems condemn it,
even in the form of remedies applied internally or ex-
ternally, believing with the Prophet that" tho sin com-
mitted by drinking wine is much greater than the ad-
vantage reaped from it." Those who have made the
pilgrimage to Mecca arc most scrupulous on this point~
Generally they will neither make nor drink wine-
344 ROUMANLA.

neither bny nor sell it--n?r the implements with which


it is made, in order to the by sllch truffle. Unfortu-
nately, however, there have been many departures
from the carly purity of the faith of Islam. The island
of Scio was conquered by the Grand-Vizier Kipriuli
on nccount of the excellence of its wines. Many of the
Turkish poets have celebrated in verse the pleasures of
the flowing bowl. Eyen tho Dervishes, tllOse pious
showmen and cunning J esuits of the East, are not proof
against the temptation. Some of the Sultans have been
addicted to intemperance, Ilnd the last P adisha, Mah-
moud, died of delirium tl'emC1I8, actually-though of
tubercular cODSumption,officially. One of the first acta
of Abdul Mcdjid was to throw into the Bosphorus
several thollsand bottles of wine surreptitiously intro-
duced in the Seraglio by the Kislar Aga. I t is affirmed,
however, that the Sultan has of late become addicted
to the vice of his predecessor. The soldiers of Orner
Pacha drank freely of 8clmap]J8, a yile liquid ill\'entcd,
they declare, by the devil, long after the promulgation
of the Koran. This is the only instance of legal acumen
I have ever discovered among the Turks. I do IlOt
remember to have scen more than ha.lf·a·dozcn Mos-
lems completely overcome by the influencc of F rench
wale>".
Let lIS, reader, be grateful to the U Camel driver or
Mecca" for the good that his religious system has RC-
eomplished in the East. The Koran is tl judicious code
LITE TN TIUT.GA1:TA. 345

of health, applied on a magnificcnt scalc, and while wc


thank Mohammed for abolishing idolatry and destroy-
ing caste throughout the wide domain or Islam, we
have also to thank that <l sanitary commissioner run
mad," for restraining millions from the use of intoxicat-
ing drinks, in a climate where the temptation to uoo
them is exceedingly great and the consequences more
fatal than clscwhcl'<!. Alcohol decimated again and
again the English army in the Odent.
Travellers making a hasty tour of the Continent
are generally guilty of egregious error in their esti-
mate of the extent of intemperance in Europe and its
effect upon socialinstitlltions. Theysce comparatively
few drunkards in tllC streets, and without caring to
make a closer examination, are ready to nffirm that
intemperance scarcely has an existence in western
Europe, that France, Italy, and the States of Gennany
constitute the Utol)ia of modern drinking.
Professor Oppoizer, a physiologist and physician of
world·wide cclebrity, whose eliniqucs I attended at
Vienna, often deprecated the drinking habits of the
Germanll, as dele~eriouB to health and general happiness;
and in my opinion the Viennese are more nnhealtlly
and shorter-lived tha.n the inhabitants of New York. In
the hospital, cases 01 delirium tremen8 were of frequent
occurrence. One of the most common and obstinate
forms of discAAe WlUI distension of the stomach, cansed
by drinking immoderate quantities (If wine. and beer.
15*
346 nOlatANIA.

Professor l-Iyrll, of Vienna, by far the greatest


anatomist of the age, used to say that he could distin-
guish, in the darkest room, by a si ngle stroke of the scal-
pel, the brain of an inebriate from that of a person who
had lived soberly. Now and then he would congratu-
late the class lIpon his possessing a dnmkard's brain,
admirably fitted from its hardness and more complete
preservation for the purposes of demonstration. When
the anatomist wishes to preserve a human brain for any
length of time, he effects his object by k eeping that
organ in a vessel of alcohol. From a soft pulpy sub-
stance, it then becomes comparati vely hard. But the
inebriate, anticipating the anatomist., begins the indu-
rating process before death, begins it while the brain
remains the consec rated temple (If the soul, while its
delicate and gossamer tissues still throb with the pulses
of heaven-born l ife. Terrible enchantment, that dries
up all the fountains of generous feeling, petrifies all
the tender humanities and sweet charities of life.
'Vere the Germans to dispense somewhat with
wine and beer, they would become more clear-hcaded,
thoughtful, and vi rtuous. Their ontological vagaries
would in l)art disappear, the despoti c anti-liberal ten-
dency of their literature would CC:lse to exist, :lUll
German infidelity, that muddy stream of v resumption
and pcdantry, would , when viewed in a clcMer light,
bccome more rcp ul si\'e and less injudous. 'Vilh them
the groflscr nppetites :lI'(J suflcl'cd to
••
i
• I.f FE I~ nliLOARlA. 347
" .• - drink up the IiOcral sap,
'Ihe ycgctating vigor of philosophy,
And leave it a mere husk."

It is a common remark in Germany that to deprive


the people of their winc and beer by increased taxation
upon those articles, would at once cause a revolution;
in other words, winc and bc(w, with music and the COIl~
eomitant 1)leasurcs, all furn ished at a cheap rate, are
acknowledged to be import.'mt means in the hands of
German tyrants for keeping their subjects OI)Presscd.
Casks of lager beer, bllttS of winc and fiddle-bows, the
props of despotism and the upholders of dynasties!
This is not saying much for the gallantry and heroism
of the people; nor in Illy opinion arc they worthy of
liberty who arc willing to take in exc1lRnge for it tile
rav ishments of winc and revelry. If it is melancholy
to sec all individnal drowning his sorrows i n wine,
what is it t.o sec cowardly nations dissolving thei r griefs
and disappointments in the Lethean forgetfulness of
intoxication i And this is the case not onl y in the
Germanic States, but thrOllghout western and central
Europe, England in part excepted. In view of thcse
(acts, the evils flowing from the usc of intoxicating
drinks in Enrope are greater than in the Un ited States.
111e individual excesses may not be so great and repul-
sive as in Oll r own eonntry, where there is more acti vity
and more complete e:xhaustior., bIlt H eaven l)rescrvc
\lS fl'om sink iw'" into th e Dea(l Sea of Ellr()))c:m intem4
"
348 ROUlt...N IA.

p erancc, involving tho loss of both morality and


liberty.
Before setting out for Constantinople, I spent a few
days in studying the characteristics of the Bulgarians.
An excursion in the interior, in the direction ofScbumla,
gave me n better knowledge of their customs and
every-dny li fe, than I had hitherto b een able to obtain.
The usua1 mode of travelling is on horseback , with A
Tartar guide. The Bulgarian horses are fast and sure-
footed, but the fatigue of sixteen hours in a Turkish
saddle would have been scarcely endurable had it not
been for the new scenes and incidents which my jour-
ney constantly afforded. Instead of resting at the
Turkish khans, as had been my practice, I sought out
the bumble cottages of the Bulgarians, experiencing
everywhere the hospitality which is proyerbial in the
East.
The Slaves of Turkey exhibit the imposing number
of morc than 7,000,000 souls. Covering the Balkans
from the Euxine to the Adriatic they are divided into
two great branches, the Serv inn and the Bulgarian.
The latter, occnpying the northern slope of the Bal-
kans, numbers 4,500,000 souls. Besides the P.·incipality
of Servia, the Servi:m branch of the family embraces
Montenegro, Bosnia, the IIertzegovhm, and numerous
districts of Albania and Epinls.
TIleBalkanssignifynwuntai1Mo/ JRjence,and in tl1eir
fastne~es the mountaineers retain to fl greater or loss
UFI, IN llUr-OA IlI A. 349

extent their ancient privileges. After the battle of


Kossova, in the yenr 1389, when the victorious Turks
put an tnd to the 'Old Servian kingdom, the refugees be-
took themselves in numerous hands to the thunder-riven
reC08SCS of Montenegro, where to this day their enemies
have not been able to penetrate. The Servian Slaves
occnpy the wildest portions of Europe, and they owe
their present independence, complete in Montenegro,
and virtually 80 in Servia, as much to the inaccessible
nature of their country as to their own brave hearts and
hands.
As the Greeks of European Turkey claim the sea
and congregate in cities, so the Slaves p refer tile moun-
tains and tllC plains. Those of the Servian branch arc
shepherds: the Bulgarians arc Cllltivators of the soil.
The former are less civilized than the Greeks, but
more consistent in their poli tical views. Of all the
races belongi ng to the m yrian trhmgle they eX}libit thc
best guarantees of a prosperous future, and arc marcli
ing slowly but surely in tIlC road of progress. Having
more of nn Oriental character than the Greeks, they
regard the Ottomans with less aversion, and although
sympathizing to n certain extent with t]lCir co·reli·
gionists of Russia, prefer a successor of Mohammed to
a Grcok Prince or a Russian Czar, 011 t}lC thronc of
Byzantinm.
N:ot a. few of the Slaves have become fanatic con-
verts to the MlIsslltman faith, and it is an instrllcti vc
350 ROUMANIA.

fact t.hat general aPQStaay has taken place only in the


province;; under aristocratic regime. Thus the Bosnians
embraced the faith of the Islam for the sole purpose of
preserving their wealth and privileges, while the
Albanians sacrificed their religion for independence,
such being their horror of servitude. The following, from
Lamartine, is equally applicable to Albania, Bt>snia, and
parts of Epirus and Macedonia.
" The Caucasus in Asia, and Albania in Europe, both
situated at the head of two great gulfs of the Mediter-
ranean whose ,.. aters arc united by the current of tlle
Bosphorus, appear to have a geographical and mora]
correspondence to each other. The Albanians are the
Circassians of Europe: the Circassians arc the Alba-
nians of Asia. These two groups of mountains appear
to have gi ven birth to like men, like women, and like
enstoms. It is from these two sources, as from the
snows upon their summits, that have been derived for
-fi ve centuries, by the frequent combination of three dis-
tinct nationalities, the spirit, the intrepidity, the beauty
and mettle of the Ottoman race. They Jove arms,
combats, adventures, races on tIle sea or nporrthe land,
the perilous feats of hrigands, fields of battle in what-
ever canse, and military engngemellts in tIle camps of
the Sultans of Egypt, Syria, and Constantinople. The
regular discipline of the European nnnies they find too
btmlellsome. They p refer the eclat of individ ual ex-
ploits, ilu;! licensc (If the Ottoman camps, t.he hand-to-
LrFE 1:'11 llUI.GA!!U. 351

hand conflict upon the impetuous steeds of Arabia or


Transylvania, the civilization which permits slaves to
rise, at the cal)riee of the master, from servitude to the
rank of Vizier or Pacha, and the religion that gives
barems and slaves to heroes.
"Their spirit, like their customs, is poetical: their
popular songs, especially those of the heroic epoch upon
their compatriot Scandcrbeg, call to mind the songs of
Homer rathcr than the effeminate chants of modem
Greeoo. Like Achilles, they mingle poetry, music, and
tile war dance. In the leisure of their life, by turns
somnolent and feverish, they are to be seen sleeping
listlessly in the sun, upon the roof or terrace of their
honses, chanting tlleir own exploits to the accompani
ment of a rustic lyre, or dancing, like women.
"Each city, each province, each village a.cknowleJg-
ed the authority of a prince, a lord, or b(1Y, who go-
verned Jcspoticnlly according to the traditions or CllS-
toms. This subjection of the cities, provinces and
villages to their respecti ve lords or feudal p rinces, dimi-
nished in no wise the. sentiment of general liberty and
passion of patriotism, supreme motives with the Alba-
nian."
The Bulgarians are more numerous than the Ser-
vians, but in many respects inferior, beillg for the
Turks" hewers of wood and carriers of wate]'." Thc!lIgh
wedded to peace, they have not forgottcn that theh·
ancestors estrlblished an ancient kingdom along the
352 ROIrnANIA.

Danube; that their armies have more than oncc carried


terror to the mlcrs of Byzantinm. To them belongs
the northern slope of the Balkans ; but they have also
penetrated into Thrace, Epirus, and Macedonia. Too
weak to avail themselves of their Ill1mericalsoperiority,
too timid to fly to independence, they show a disposi-
tion to frateMlize with the Greeks and the Servians.
The mercantile and maritime character of the
Greeks, the pastoral disposition of the Berrian&, and
the ~<YTieultural tendency of the Bulgarians-in these
we have the clements of a great people, for the cata-
blisllment of whose power nothing but nnion is neces-
sary. Could the two races be amalgamated, Ottoman
authority in Europe would "pccd ily l)as8 away.
To impart an idea of Bulgarian life, I cannot do
better than employ the poetical description of Cy-
prian R obert :
"Nothing is more like a group of savage bote thAn
a cew or Bulgarian village. Always remote from the
high road or from tho waste space to which that name
is g i,'cn, and conSC<J,uently invisible to most trAvellers,
the ceW usnally stands in a meadow along the border
of a stream which serves it for a ditch and natural
defence. These villages are very lIumerous, snccecd·
ing each ot her from league to league. Each consists of
four or five groups of houses, separated from each other
by grass-grown spaces. The courts surrounded by n
thick hedge are like so many islands in n sea or vcr-
LIFE IN nCLGARIA. 353

dUM. The huts composing one of thorn arc 11sl1ally ten


or twelve in numoor nud are either tonned of wattles,
80 86 torcsemble great baskets, or nrc sunk in tile grollnd
and covered widl a conical roof of thatch or of branches
of trooe. Each specie3 of creature has its separate
abode in this ark of the wilderness. There nrc llllts for
the poultry, for the sheep, for the pigs, for the oxen,
and for the horses; and in the midst the proprietor
occupies a cabin which serves llim for cellar, granary,
kitchen and bedroom. The family sleep on skins spread
on the ground round the hearth which is a circular
hole sunk in the middle of the room. Little more than
the roof of these dark dwellings rises above the grolmd j
you descend into them by a short flight of steps, and
the doors arc so low that yOIl must stoop as you enter.
Nevertheless these poor huts are as clean and as
neatly arranged inside as they can be made by the
indefatigable baba (Bulgarian housewife), to whom em-
ployment is so necessary, that she 1)1ics her spin-
dle even whilst cooking, or carrying her goods to
market.
"The Bulgarian women arc gentle, compassionate
and laborious. The motherly and sisterly care they
bestow on the stranger guest in their cabin is really
affecting. TIe sleeps on the same floor with the mother,
the wife and the daughters of t.he household. They
are, next to the Greeks, the handsomest women in
European Turkey, Hnd are especially remarkable for
354 nOUM.A.NfA.

t he length and luxuriance of thei r hair, with which


they eould l iterally cover themselves as with a gar-
ment: it often sweeps the ground below their feet.
The young girls let their tresses flow loosely, and their
only head-dress is a wreath of flo wers, or a single rose.
Those whose charms are on the wane, adorn t hemsel ves
with necklaces and b racelets of glass beads, a girdle of
copper gilt, and an ugly head-piece in the form of a
IlClmet, festooned w ith strings of piastres, paras and
ancient coins dug up in the fi elds.
" Like the son of the steppe, the Bulgarian is in-
separable from his horse. In the cOllntry parts every
Bu)garian has one, the very poorest not c-xcepted, and
never goes even a few hund red yards fl'om his cabin
except on horseback. Skulls of' horses or buffaloes
are planted on stakes in front of' his dwelling, as a
symbol , apparently, of a l)rosperous condition. TIle
Bulgarian and the Turk, thollg'h living in the same
country, clothe themselves quite di ffere ntly. The Turk
came from the south, and wears loose g anncnts of
linen or cotton j the Bulgarian, on the con trary, being
a son of the north, is always wannly clad evcn in
summCI·. n is costume is thc same as tllat of his
ancestors on the eold plateau of NorthcMI Asia."
CHAPTER XIV.

TtrE EUXIN E AND Til): BQ8pnOlUJ6.

• Frigidi me oohibeut h"uxiu i Iitorn Ponti


Dietus ab alltiquis AxenWl ilIll fulL"

"We rub each other', anglOll dowD."

ILu>1'Y was I when the hour of my departure for Con-


stantinople nrrh ·cd. I n the 1'1lI'k ish khan, where the
fail1d'ul reposed p crpcndicul:U'ly by day and horiz(mtal·
ly by night, I had smoked nway preciolls days in the
most listless ethnographical obscrvation--sp cllt whole
n igh ts in tile most Ilctive entomological pursuits. TIle
khan-keeper was a paragon of honesty and good-nature.
H e remly scemed sad when I paid hi m fo r the sleep
afforded by the most unyielding of m:1.ts, the unnum-
bered ClipS of black coffee, and pipe-loads of fl-'agrallt
lattlkich j and the slipping of 1\ few extra piastres sli ly
into the hand of the good .Mussulmau for the excellence
of his long cbibouques, gave a peculiar unction to his
parting benediction.
Happy, indescrib ably happy, was T to leave th at
I'Cndezvous of all the villany and wretchedncss follow-
35G ROUMANIA.

ing in the track of war, and embark on the French


steamer lying at anchor in the offing. TIle wheels soon
began to revolve. The black monster wound her
way with difficulty through the fl eet of transports, and
then turned her prow toward the Bosphorus. The fort-
resses and mosques of V arna were soon shut out from
vicw. The tent-crowned summit of the promontory of
Galata gradually sank beneath the sen, but the high
bluffs along the coast and the distant Balkans were in
sight all the afternoon.
For the fi rst time in my life I felt myself really on
classic ground, and my thoughts werc us light and
buoyant as the trembling moisture of the Pontic wavc.
True, I had seen where tIle R oman triremes approached
the shores of Britain, and traversed provinces dotted
witlt Roman camps and cities, but the dimpled waves of
the Euxine had yielded to the prow of the Argo, while
the expedition of Cresar and the period of Roman con-
quest seemed as of yesterday compared to the fabulou8
age of the Argonauts, or to the later time when the
shores of the Enxinc were studded with colonies fonnded
by persons who had left the cities of Grcece for the en-
joyment of greater liberty, or in consequence of false
predictions of the Oracles. Steaming down the ancient
)fresian Coast, I first fonnd myself surrounded by the
myths and solidarities of antiquity.
F or several honrs the Enxine was calm and smooth
as a mirror. But before sundown the fleecy clouds
THE EUX IX E A.-'I) TilE I)OSI'1I0RUS. 351

gathered in dark fcstvOfiS, IHlge nebulous masses collect-


ed around the summ its of Ihe Balkans, as frowning
warriors assemble around their chiefs, and thell took up
their stately, aerial march, trumpeted by thunders and
heralded by vivid lig htningli. The first breath of the
tempest just ruffled tJlC sUI-faee of the sea j the ripples
curled into waves weaving their crisped smiles as if in
scornful defiance, and in a short time we could have
justly quoted the Jines of Byron-

"There's not a. sea the traveller e'er pukes in


Throws up more dangerous breakers tha.n tho Euxine."

The night closed in with a storm, and I retired below


to study the varied characters among whom I had been
thrown.
The steamer is not ollly a triumph of civilization,
hut is, in the East, one of its chief agents and promoters.
It will, with other causes at work, ultimately regenerate
the Orient. lind it been introduced a century ago,
before the Ottoman Empire reached the last stage of
dissolution, there woald now be hope for the Osmaulis.
The steamer brings people together,keeps them t.ogether,
and compels them to learn of each other. The decks
of the Euphraie exhlbitcd Httle mOli-aics of llationalities
and arabesque eostum~. .A, Sif!lple wanderer from the
'Vestern 'Vorld, and apparently the only traveller on
board, I found ehlstored around me, as if by cnchant-
ment, not only the denizens of civilized Eu rope, but the
358 ROU)lANIA.

dusky children of Africa and the wild sons of the nomadic


nations of Central Asia. Strange sight it was, and a
remarkable proof that the prejudices of ra ce and coun*
try are gradually wearing away, to see Turkish soldiers
mingled with the Horse-Guards, Tureomans and Arabs
jostled by Germans and Anglo-Saxons, and French
ladies elbowing their way through a crowd of veiled
Moslem spectres. Our ancestors may ha.ve separated
from each other at the dispersion of Babel. We spoke
different languages and had different sympathies, but
the twenty-two hours' passage from Varna to Constanti-
nople unavoidably gaye us new impressions. In the
social as in the sidereal system, bodies cannot come
near each other without silently exerting a reciprocal
influence.
The majority of the passengers were sick and
wounded soldiers from the Crimea on their way to the
hospitals of Seutari and Constantinople, or returning to
tJleir native luud. They were ragged, emaciated, and
downcast. P oor fell ows ! plebeian nothings in the Ti-
tunic conflicts of kings and races ! What mockery to
them" the pride and pomp of glol"ious war," and how
cruel its bloody circumstance ! They belonged to the
fourth class of passengers, and most of them hud to
remain all night on the forward deck, exposed t6 the
pitiless storm. The thi]-d class was made up of Turks
and Armenians, who occupied half of the hurricane-
deck and were protected overhead hy a canvas awning_
THE EUXI:>;E AJS O THE BOSI'JlOIWS. 359

The Turk en 'lJoyageant is fond of n large retinue of


servants. If his harem be in l)rocess of trallSportation,
be also carries an incredible quantity of baggage for
sleeping and culinary purposes. The Ottoman is inde 4

pendent of the steamer which transports him even for


the water he drinks and the fire that ignites hi s tobacco.
Except in the hurry of departure, he mingles but little
with the crowd on board. Spreading his blanket on tile
square fcet allotted him, he squats upon it cross-legged
and cross-anncd, and remains relatively motionless
during the ....oyage, blow high or low, in sunshine or
in storm. The limited space on the dcck of the
EuphraW rendered the carrying out oC the harem
principle somewhat difficult. Thc female sex is mnch
the same the world over in the mode of maintain 4

ing its rights, and judging from the hurried accen-


tuation, sea-sickness and promiscuous bedfel10wship
scriously disturbed the usual equanimity of Eastern
manners.
The fi rst and second cabins were occupied by Eng-
lish, French, and Turkish officers of the higher class.
The two former tlSsociated little with each other. One
would h:wc supposed from their j ealous remarks, that
the sons of England and France were fighting face to
face instead of shoulder to shoulder in tlJat great crusade
in the East-so true is it that their boasted allinnce ex-
isted not in tJlC hearts of the two nations, but was the
offspring of circumstances liable to be changed at any
360 KOUMA N lA.

moment by the dea.th of Nal)oleon or a revolution aimed


at aristocratic power in England.
The Turkish offi cers belonged to the n ew school of
Moslems. They had the levity of P arisians, drank
French water, and were given to other Christian us&gc8.
There were also with us a few officers' wives who had
followed their husbands to the Orient, but the wceds of
mourning plainly indicated that war and pleasure do
not always march together.
The Euxine of' grand and severe reputation- the
axerws, or inhospitable, of the Greeks in contrast
with their soft and tranquil .lEgeau-is about three
hundred miles in length frOIll eust to west, hut
much less in width, behlg of the shape of a Scythian
bow. In it arc mingled the crystal floods of the Ural
and the .Alps, the melted congciations of tlle North, and
the weepings of warm showers on the P ontic slope of
Anatolia. 111e Euxine is tideless, and notwithstanding
it receives the perpetual in nndations of forty rivers, is
decidedly saline. Looked down upon by fo ur mountain
chuins, thc Carpathiulls, the IImmlls, the Taurus aod
tile Caucasus, and exposed to the winds tJlat sweep over
the Steppes of R ussia, we could not expect to fi nd it
pacific. But the traditional dangers nttending the
navigation of the Euxille Imve been studiously magni.
fied by the Russians, who well know that tJ1CY will to n
great extent disappear after the erection of light-houses
along the coasts and the completion of accurate cllarts.
'fll~; l-:UXINI, AN!) 'l'IU; I10S1'J!Om.: S. S(il

I cauuot forbe ar alludi ng in this connection to an


adventure of the Emperor Nicholas Oil the Black Sea.
in the ycar 1828. H e and the Gl'Und D uke Michael
embarked at Sevastopol 011 a small stcamcr-l'hnpG-
ratJice de [q, Mer-for Varna, then besicged by the
Russians. OOllllt Ncsselrodc, with several PCrsOIlS of
dipomatic reputation, took passage on the Pentele-i1non
which was to bear the other steamer company. A ter-
rifi c storm camc on. TIle vessels were disabled and
sCl)arated. The one which carried Nicholns and his
fo rtunes was driven to the opening of the Bosphorns,
and the commander prol)oscd to run in and surrendcr
us the oilly possible means of su\'ing the lives of those
on board. To that proposition the Emperor would not
listen-preferring death to snch a. humiliation. After
a. man'ellous escal)e t hey ultimately made tbe port of
Odessa. Nesselrode and the members of the dil)lomatie
corps with him arrived at Sevastopol after eight days
of perils mId gastric l)erturbatiolls, glad to ha\'e es·
eaped, b ut eonvinecd that N cptunc is no respecter of
persons.
The poet Ovid, in one of his cpistolary odes ex
Ponto, complained of the barbarity of the people and
the inhospitable nature of the clinmtc;-

"CurnqllC alii ¢auM tilli sint grnl'iorn fllgati


Ulterior nulli qu~rn mihi, term d~t~ cs~
Longius hac nihil cst nisi tanrum frigus et hostis,
f1t rnHri.o ~ll~lrict" '101m cuit mula g<:hI."
10
362

The climate is II OW milder than III the time of Ovid


Certain causes have operated in diminishing the ex·
cessive cold of eastern Europe from century to century.
Vienna, on the upper Danube, occupies the site of the
R oman camp of Julia Vindobona. 'Ve read that when
the legions were encamped there under Marcus Aure·
lius, fl·ozen wine was brought upon the tabl es of the offi-
cers, a luxury that is not enjoyed by the modem
Viennese.
IIerodotus relates that the Thraeians crOBBed the
Cimmerian Bosphorus upon the icc. Strabo speaks of
an engagement by the cavalry of Mithridatcs on the
frozen Euxine,and a. llaval victory afterwards gained by
him ncar the same spot. H e also repeats the story
of Herodotus that in the region of the Euxine the
horns were sawn from the heads of the oxen in order
to prevent their being frozen off by the excessive cold
of winter.
Jason, according to the poetic fables of the aneient.s,
which ascribe heroic moti\'es to all advellhlfers, tra-
versed the Euxine to captl1l'e Ihe golden fl eece, Of
rather, making a considerable allowance for the fi lli-
bustering chnnl etel' of Ids ~xpeditioll, to obtain the
superior wool of Colehis. The great number of rivers
flowi ng into the ElIxinc havc from timc immemorial
rendered its watcrs as famous for fisheries as its shorcs
ha\'C been eelcb rated for their wealth in cereals. And
while th e lofty argosies, freig ht ed wit h Ihc luxuries of
Corinth and Athens, visited the Euxinc for the same
object that has, within the last fifty years, directed
innumerable English prows to Odessa, namely, the
subst:mtiul realities of grai n and tallow, fl eets of hardy
fishermen bent their way th ither for the treHsures of
Neptune, less valuable indeed than those of Ceres, but
still greatly sought after. The exports of grain and
fish from t1w coasts 01' the Ellxille to tllC cities of
Greece, arc mentioned by both Herodotus and D c-
mosthenes.
It would be impossible to describe the horrid discom-
forts of my first and only night upon the Euxine. To
sleC}) without being lashed to the berth, or pack illg one-
self away like a choice piece of fUnliture in a box, was
quite iml)OSsible. E very timber in the vessel seemed to
have forgotten its ordinary tune, and squeaked and
crackled Jorth a gibberish sound. The huge ship would
roll from side to side, and like a tired giant, lie panting
on the wavcs. Checked one momellt in her course by
a heavy sea, the pulseless arms of her engines seemed
almost to stop, and tllen,gathering new strength from the
" floods of living fire" within, she would again dal·t for-
ward like an arrow-
"The> ~ating of her rostl~8 heart
Still 60undillg through the stann."

D uring the sleepless watches of the night I often


thollght of the Argonautic adventurers who, we are
told,
364
" Were the first that ever burst
l llto that silent !!ea."

and of the rich argosies whieh visited the Pontus after


the enterprise of the Milesians had dottc.d its coasts
with famou s cities and converted the azen08 of the
Greeks into the euxinos, the hospitable,-a name which
it h as ever since bOnIe.
Amid the howlings of the storm there came dim
visions of thc many-tongued nations on t1lC shores of
the Euxine.
I saw on its rugged heights bands of horse-taming
Paphlagollians and HUlls navigati ng its bays with fleets
of canoes burned from the trunks of trees. There
arose out of the chaos of these mythic and barbaresque
times tJU'l Tauri cruelly decoying mari ners upon the
rocks of their Chersonese to sacrifice them afterwards
upon bloody altars, and the Getre pursuing their
enemies across tJ}e frozen Boristhenes with poisoned
arrows. There also were the indotniti Dahes of the
Caucasus, defying the arms of the R omans and of the
Pontic k ings as they have those of the Turks and Rug.
sians in modem times. Gentler visions came nlso--of
beautiful Iphigenia forced to become the sangui nary
priestess of D iana, and of Medea, whom ancient myths
surround with all the horrors of sorcery, but who, I
delight to think, possessed no other magic than tllat of
bcauty, was guilty of no crime but that of loye. I be-
held j oyous dan ccs once more in the cool groves of
TIlE EUXINE AND TIn; IlOSPIIORUS. 365

Angora, and bethought me of gentle Hylns drawn be-


neath the waves by the nymphs. There had also livcd
Mithrioatcs, onc of the iools of my boyhood readings.
The one and the only illustrious name belonging exclu-
sively to the history of the Pontic kingdoms, it conse-
crates the very soil on which he Jived_ After all, the
great and heroic mall is the noblest product of t\le
earth ; and I would travel further to see a "rehslel"
standing by the grave of Milton or Slllikespeare than to
behold the seven wonders of the world.
The past yields to the present.
The expedition fitted ont from Varna, surpassing
everything of the kind in the extent and completeness
of its appointments-the siege, to which those of Vienna
and Saragossa can hardly be compared-the Euxine
swept of a powerful navy and a rich commerce-these
were the quick-coming cvents of a few months. Hosts
of men speakillg almost evcry language and exhibiting
almost every t.ype of the human race, wcrc brollght
hither, not fo r the purposes of commerce in a region
fitted by nature to be the commercial centre of the
globe, bnt to destroy each other and g ratify the am-
bition of monarcllS. With the Allies the late war was
llominally a struggle of civilization and liberty against
barbarous despotism, but seas swept of commerce,
sacked cities, and burning villages, were the foot-
prints of their path . 'l11C vcry armies enriching with
their blood the gmnal·y of Emope were in part
3GG ROU)[ANIA. •

provisioned from tllC prairies of our own great


West.
Such are the anomalies of war.
I was on deck at an carly hour of the morning to
catch my first gl:mco of the llosphorus and the coast
of Asia. The storm had swept past. The stars twinkled
as brightly as ·when tbey guided the ancient mariner
venturing ont timidly upon the I nhospitable Sea. TI le
moon was sinking behind the hills of Roumelia just
visible in the distance, at whose rock·bound bases a
long line of flashing breakers gleamed like the sheen
of many tremulous spears. The air was deliciously soft
and warm, and there was not a breath of wind to re-
kindle the ruge of' the clanging sea) but wave pursued
wave as if eager to catch the first kiss of rosy morning
-to cradic and roll themselves to sleep in "the voice-
les.s caves" of the Anatolian coast, or broken and tired
with a longer march, to rest like weary Titans against
the adamantine bases of the Caucasus.
A wounded French soldier from the Crimea had died
during the night., and his comrades wcrc already as-
sembled on deck to commit his body to the sea. From
the moment be came on board at Vuma, Ilis pitiable
condition had greatly interested me. Tlle brave young
fellow was proud of being numbered among the children
of glory and of France, but he had hOI)ed t.o see once
more the sunny hills ot' his beantiful nati\Tc land. TIle
rude breath of battle dlies IIp the sweet charities and
TilE EUXUn: A:'W T ill': 1l0SI'1l0RUS. 367

the tender humanities of life) but it is only during its


hot rage that the soldier is without compassion j at other
times he is a man. 'Vhen, after thc death of tho
wounded soldier, I saw his brother-ill-arms lay aside
with eare the sword and the cltapeau to be used 110
more, together with the little mementocs thnt bespoke a
mother's love, though the actors were humble, I could
not help thinking of the fri endships which sprang up
between the warriors before the battlemculsofTroy, us
of Achillcs and Patroclus, of Ajax and Tencer. They
who were grouped around me had witnessed the carllage
of Alma withont a shudder, they had often stood ill the
presence. of death j but when the waves of the Euxine
closed above their companion-ill.anus, and danced as if
in triumph over a new victim for their dark and silent
mansions, more than one officer turned away to concenl
the lear he could not repress.
Next t.o· Christianity, IslamiSIll embodies the purest
conception of the Deity_ Stript of all the tissues which
Asiatic sensuality bas woven around the system, it has
much of "the naked and austere grandeur of Protestan-
tism. Tho pious Moslem seems ever aware of the im-
med iato and universull)resence of Allah, reigning olonc
in his terrible nnity far above the sensual mansions of
the Mussulman's hea'·en. Laboring or journeying, ill
the caravan or in the camp, he cherishes everywhere tJIC
devotional spirit pec uliar to Orientals, and making the
ablutions with sand where water cannot be obfained,
308 ROUMAN IA.

l)crmits nothing short of absolute necessity to interfere


w·jth his inyocatious to Allah and the Prophet.
When I first came on deck I noticed several of my
Moslem compaf}nO'll./i du 'VOyage engaged in their expiat-
ory lustrations and morning prayers. It was an im-
pressive sight to see those simple children of Natuf(:
pionsly stretching th eir hands towards the fad ing stars.
None could have been more earnest, none morc sincere
than they, "transacting in their peculiar manner the
great business of salYation."
Then occnrred a scene which gave me a lasting im-
l)rcssion of the devotional character of Islam, but in the
connectiqn, appeared strangely ludicrous. Among the
passengers there was a wealthy Turk from one of the
Danubian cities on a pilgrimage to H ebron with his
four handsome wives, half·a-dozen children, and man-
servants and maid-servants I cannot say how many.
The Effendi was a man of rank, and had taken evident
l)lcasure the day predous in showing me a gold watch
presented him by the Sultan_ nis servants had
brought the ewol'S of fresh water, with gold-embroidered
napkins, and spread the piece of Persian carpet, on
which the Effendi, after having performed the abl utions
and determined by the compass the direction of Mecca,
bowed reverently towards the holy City. The stonn
had driven liS a few miles from our coursc, and the
steamer changed her direction for the highlands of the
13osphorns a moment ailel' my Moslem friend began his

p. III
TilE EUXl:SE A:>I) TilE noSl'II0IWS. 369

devotions. The Nubian touched his mHUer's shouldel·


lightly, and informed him that he was no longer praying
in the direction of Mecca. The Effendi rose at once,
looked again at the compass, Hnd rearranging the caz·pet,
went throngh the prescribed prayers, as unmindful of
our presence as ifhe had been worshipping in the solitude
of Sahara. There is a sleepy, unspiritual absorption in
Oriental worship, there is something pharisaical in this
parade of prayer, but of one thing I am certain j the
Moslem is never ashamed of the religion of the Prophet.
We are near the Bosphorus. The shore is bold and
rugged, both on the European and the Asiatic side.
The highest elevations, separated from each other by
wooded ravines, here barren and there crowned with
forests, can hardly be called mountains, but arc the
forerunners of the mighty llremus and Bitllynian
Olympus, frowning at each other across the llosphom s,
or shak ing hands beneath its placid surface. The
fortresses of Kilia and Riva, the fon ner on the European,
the latter on the Asiatic side, are the ontworks guarding
the entrance of the Bosphorus. Two or three villages
can be seen perched Eke eagles' nests upon the rocky
slopes of the promontories.
On tlle summit of a height on the European shore is
sitllated a large, ancient round tower, which Domy.
sias called TU1'riS l"illuea, but was in reali.ty the old
Pharos from which t()rcilcs were Ileld lip at night to sny('
,·easels navigating the lliack Sea from being ship·
I G*
370 RO[J)L\NIA,

wrecked on the Cyanrean rocks at the entrance of the


&sphoma, or on the Thraeian coast. The fonner "'ere
called Cyanrean or bl uish, fro m their COlOI', and also the
Symplegades, or rocks striking together, 'TIle story of
tlleir mobilit.y doubtless arose from the fact that, .rising
scarcely six feet nbcn"c the surfilce, they appear and dis-
apI)ear as the waves pass over thcm, Th is, however,
was 3 splendid point for the poet of antiquity, who re-
presents Jason as steering out boldly upon the Euxine
in accordance with the advice of King Phineas, but the
treachcrous Symplegades closing before his vessel had
passed between them, shc lost part of her stem, which--
substituti ng na utical for poetical language-means
si mply that the Argo struck a rock and unshipped her
rudder.
From the wildness of the coast I can readily believe
that the ancient inhabitants, a barbarous and crnel ~
pIc, used to light fires ill the most dangerous places in
order fatally to decoy the mariner.
'Vc enter the B osphol'uS and soon sweep by the an·
cient Faunum or lIie ron, where once stood a tem})le to
the Twelve Gods, and where the .iEgc~1Il Phrygos, and
afterwards J ason, on h is return from Colchis, dedicated
altars and instituted sacrifices. Nothing, however, can
now be seen of the temple of ZCIlS and Posidon on tIlC
Asiatic side, or tbat of Sel'llpis find Cybcle oppositc.
The straits of llieron, between olle-tilird and one-half a
milc ill width, arc the narrow('St. part of the Bosllhonls.
'fill': m ': XINE AND TilE nOSI'1I01WS . ~ j}

H ere, from the earliest times, were the outposts of its


shores against tho attacks of northern barbarians; hero
also it was that vessels sailing in and out of the Enxine
were obliged to pay toll to the masters of the adjacent
heights.
After the development of the maritime power of
A thens, Byzunee, with the Pontic and H ellespontic
cities, became her t ributary. To pay the tr ibute allnn·
ally demanded of th em the Byzantines in turn levied
toll upon all vessels passing through the Bosphorus.
And to show the extent of the commerce then floati ng
through this channcl, I may state that the distant Rhodi·
ans demanded an cxemption from the payment of the
"Bosphorns Dues," and fi nally obtained such an exemp.-
tion on the ground that they were exclusively a mari-
tillle and commercial people. At a much later date
llieron became the theatre of frequent Byzantine and
Venetian contests. The Genoese obtained p ossession of
the Straits of l lieron in the fourteenth ccnt nry, and the
remains of their ca.stles are still to be seen on the oppo-
site heights. The H eruli al)peared here in the year 248
A. D., with fi\'e hund red boats. At t his point th e Goths
crossed over into Bithynia. The R ussians advanced
as far as IIieTQn the first time in 865, again in 941,
and in the year 1832, 25,000 Muscovite troops landed
not far below and encamped on the plain of' Seutari
as all ies of the Turks to prevent Constantinople from
falling into the hands of :Mohammed Ali.
372 ROt:lI,\NI ,\o

A point of lund on the Asiatic side was III ancient


times called the Anchor Cape, from the trad ition that
Jason took a stone anchor from that spot. It aftcnvards
became a shrine, and ultimately the pious Byzantines
made a saint ont of the reputed anchor of the Argo.
Strange how the vestiges of heathenism arc mingled
with the usages of the EastCI1l Christians, how hoary
temples ha\'e bcen converted into churches, and the
Olympian gods baptized into Greek and Latin saints !
The Immaculate Virgin has uSlwped the place of the
Artful Venus, Jupiter has laid aside his H omeric
thunderbolts, Mars has pu t off the severe hahiliments of
war, and the tablets onec relating the labors and lovc,;
of the gods arc 110W inseloibed with the P ater and the
OJ'Cdo. '11lC same is to a certain extent t me of 'Vestern
Europe. An old record made in the lime of K ing
Edgar speaks of Westmin!ter Abbey as occupy ing the
site of an ancient temple of A.I)ollo, while the immense
number of oxen's heads once fonnd ncar St. Paul's
Cathedral, as well as traditions, go far to show that a
t.emple to Dimla stood upon the spot.
'111e Bosphorus is about sixteen mile~ in length, and
averages half 11 mile in width. The ~e\Oen promontoJ"ies
jutting far ont into the stream and the seven correspond-
ing buys make it cr("loked, and at certain points render
the current turbulent.
It is the opin ion of many &a:allsthat ll ntiiiong after
the creation of Adam, the Aral, the Caspian, and Black
T!II'; \o:L"XL'OI'; A;SJ) TilE 1l0SI'IIOIWS. 373

Seas forllled one imltlcnse body of water, occupying


much of Cent .-al Asia, the stepl)cs of R'lssia, and a great
part of Turkey in Enrol)e. The five successive basins
t hrough which the Danube descends to the E uxine must
also have been, ill l)re-Adamie times, large inland seas_
'l1iC geological fOl1nation of European Turkey in par-
ticulUr appears to warrant these suppositions_ A
terrestrial revolution p rob ably opened the Bosphorus
at the time of the Flood, and the IIellespont snbse-
quently, thns forming a connection with the Mediter-
ranean.
H ence the G reek, or rather t he Pelasgic traditions
respecting the two dehlges of Oxygcs and Deueation
have g reat historical interest. Merely the highlands
of Greece rose above the surt:'1CC, bllt Oil the brcnking
th rough of the Gibraltar-an event which probably
occurred after the cultivation of the P clasgie races to
a considerable extent-the water subsided , enlarging
thereby the continents of Europe and Asia, and fo rm-
ing the islands of the .iEgean.
"The Sml10thmeians related," says D iodorus Sicu-
Ius, " that the Pontic Sea had once been 1\ vast 1)001
of standing water, which, swollen by the ri vers flowi ng
into it, fi rst o\'(wflo wed the CO li n try to the Cyanroan
rocks, and after forcing its way through the Thracian
Bosphom s, formed th e H ellespont."
P lato is also cited by Strabo as havi ng remarkeu
tllat for some time after the early deluges, t1JC relllelll-
374 l:CJl.: ~!.\ XU.

brance of which was pl'cserved in traditions in other


places than Samothracc, only the summits of the moun-
tains werc inhabited, the water as yet extending over
the level ground j that men descended first to the bills,
then upon the plains, and thus by degrees reached the
sca-shorc j and that improvement in dispositions, cus-
toms, and modes of life accompanied these changes of
situation, so that from wild rustics without laws, they
became social, civilized, and well regulated.
The islands in the Mediterranean look as if they
had been washed and rounded by the action of water.
The shape of the islands of tlle Archipelago and the
form and direction of the headlands of Greece and Asia
Minor plainly indicate that an immense body of water
once flowed down f'rom the Euxillc. Candia, it is true,
lies with its long diameter ill an eastem and westem di-
rection, bnt there the cm·rent must have been deflected
towards Sicily. There is a magnificent audacity in this
theory, but scientific facts appear to give it strong
support.
And now begins, from the deek of the Euphrau,
the most magnificent l)anorama of whidl the world
can boast. We ca.n neither })aint lightning, nor give
in words the flush of Aurora. Equally impossible is it
to describe the marvels of beauty collected along the
blue waves of the Bos})horus. The Orient and the
Occident are here brought together, and the stately
grandem of tile North softened by the gorgeous ara-
TilE El; .... INf·; AND TlIE llOSPIJOIWS. 3i5

besqucs of the sunny South. N atlu'e has exhausted


her resonrces, History lavished her choicest associa-
tions, and Art piled up her moresque and chiselled
wealth in the work of ennobling these enchanting
spots,-130 enchanting that the Oriental poets sing of
their renown in heaven as celestial abodes.
Along the Bosphorus, rolling like a mighty serpent
of seven coils, between the dark Euxine and thc silvery
Mannom, Creator and man have collected all that is
most beautiful in form, color, or grace. Here arc rug-
ged mountains and syl van valleys, the melody of birds
and the music of water, the aroma of the cypress and
the breath of flowe rs. Its rushing waters-how often
they have mingled their perpetual dirge with the hur-
r ied t umultuous t read of barbaric hosts! Its forest-
crowned heights-how often they ha\'c echoed and
reechoed the thunders of angry nations ! Gloriolls
regIOn,

"Tha~ circling SCD.8 admirc,


Tho land where Powcr delights to dwel~

And War his mightiest deeds can tell,


And Poetry, to swoow;t apell,
Attunes her "\'oioo nnd lyre."

Buynkderc, Therapia, Bebek, and a score of other viI·


lages, inhabitcu by Gl'eeks, Turks, anu Armenians, arc
pnsseu in quick succession. Here is a summer palace
of the Sultan, and there the resi dence of a foreign
Si6 nOU)UNB.

ambassador. Here are graceful kiosks and konaks,


there cupolas and khans. In one place the minaret of
a mosque rises out of a syh'an retreat, in another an
oriental kahve is the resort of pleasure-seeking groups.
Cl"lunblillg castles arc not wanting nor forts bristling
with cannon.
On these terraces, washed by the lapsing waves,
and shaded with orange and j asmine, statnesqne Mos-
lems make the delicious kief: in those romantic re-
treats, cooled by the perpetual showers of fountains,
naiad and nereid bands of Turkish beauties " do con-
gregate" to enjoy the sweet earth and the balmy air-
the choicest luxuries of the Orient. Now we glide by
the palace of a pacha, who, a Sejanus at home and n
Verres in the provinces, has grown wealthy by extortion
in some distant part of the Empire, to live in castcnl
magnificence on the Bosphorus j and there, behind
trellised jalou8ics, flit the pearls of lordly harems, ri ch
in the wealth of Circassian chm'lus and Georgian curls.
'Ve notice the spot where Mandroclcs of Samos
built the bridge for the army of Darins, and where the
latter sat enthroned to see his myriads eross the Straits.
H ere is pointed out the giant plane-tree, under which
Godfrcy of Bouillon is said to have encam ped j and
yonder reposed Rinaldo, happy alike in war and in
worship-R inaldo, eyer fortunate in labor and in love.
Here is the mansoleum of the brave Barbnrossa, and
there ollce stood n 1,iJlar of Simcr.n the St.ylite. W1mt
TilE EUXnn; AND TilE n OSPIiORUS. 3 _,",
more fitting place could the anchorite huy(J chosen for
h is scl f~i n fl ictions than where, with alternate homage,
the hills of Asia and E urope lay their golden shadows
at each otholO's feet on the bl ushing bosom of the Bos-
phoros !
Shooting past a headland, the Queen of eastern
cities rises before us like a sphynx from the waves.
As we approach the Golden n orn, that grandiose Con-
stantinople-sleeping voluptuously on a conch of'seven
hills, letting her feet dip in waters of sapphi re and eme-
rald, and bathing her dome-tim"cd head in a roseate fin d
purple atmosphere-becomes incomparably beautiful.
The wish of my youth is gratified, and my thongllts
seem lost in th e bewildering imaginings of nn Oriental
dream :
"The European with the Asian sh"re
':>parkled with palaces j the ocean-stream,
nero Dud there studded with a oo'l'enty-four,
Sophia's cupCtla with golden gleam j

Thc cypress groves j Olympus high and hoar:


Tho Twell-o IslCll, and more than I could dream,
Flir less describe, present the very vi(lw
That charmed tile charming Mary MonUlgU_"

I
CHAPrER xv.
S'fAMOOUL.

"Thougb all ~tb<:r cIties havo pcriodg of government and aro subjeet to
tho decays orume, Collstautinoplo alooo sooms to claim to IU.!l'gelf a. kiDd
of immortality, and will continue :I, city M long as the moo of mankind
ahallliyc (lither to inhabit or build her." GYLLIUB.

"Eastern opulence jewel thick."

'lirE steamer hardly cast anc1lOr at the opening of the


Golden Horn before she was surrounded by a fleet of
ca'iques,-ligllt boats of one or more sets of oars, of which
not less than twenty thousand arc said to ply on the
waters of Constantinople. The cardjis, or oarsmen,
stalwart Greeks WitJl brawny an ns and pichlresque cos-
tumes, were importunate to set us nshore. Their frail
barks remind olle of the Gondolas of Venice, but are so
sharp and light that the l)(lSScmgcr is obliged to sit im·
movably on the bottom to avoid being capsized. The
lower part of the Bosphorus and the Golden Hom were
crowded with vessels of every kind, and bearing the
flag of every nation. I noticed many small boats com-
ing in loaded with fish, especially the Xiphias, or Sword
STAMllO[)L. 379

Fish, which is here ve.ry abuudant. Another species


reminded me of a common saying among the Greeks,
that no salle person would carry Tunny Fish to Byzance,
or owls to Athens, as rarities. In the spring vast shoals
of fish swim up the Bosphorus, swarming rlfter each
othcr in such multitudes that they can be taken out of
the water with the hands.
You land at a low, :filthy whart~ crowded with Greek
and Turkish idlers, and if initiated into the ways of the
Orientals, avoid the ordeal of the Custom H ouse by
slipping a few piastres into the hand of the otlicer.
Your baggage, it matters little how heavy or volumi-
nous, is piled upon the back of a Damal, who can walk
easily under a burden of three hundred pounds. lIav-
ing traversed the muddy lanes of Galata, yOIl begin
to toil up the steep eminence of Pera. Noone demands
your passport; no one inquires after you : you arc ill
fact unnoticed, save by some cunning Greek, already
importunate to become yom cicerone, and the troops of
half starved dogs wandering ill the streets. You behold
little or nono of the pomp with which governmental
authority is maintained in the cities of W cstem Enropc
- wituess but few m iJitary preparations for tlle pu rpose
of preventing popular outbreaks or drying up individual
(lrops of disaffection. No ponderolls wheels of govern-
ment are to be seen, nor is the clash of its operations to
be heard. Like the stranger who lands upon our own
shores, where man can restrain and l'ule himself, tIle
380 nOtJ)fANTA.

first impression is that yOll are among a )lcoplc without


govemmcnt.
Contrast is the law of the Orient. Under an abso-
lute form of government you arc surprised to find the
enjoyment of almost unlimited freedom j and, where
all else is unchangeable, to behold the slave of ro-day a
Paeha or Vizier to-morrow.
Pora is the Frank suburb of Constantinople and the
urban residence of the foreign ambftSsudom. The princi-
pal hotels woro crowded with English and French officers,
and rather than take up with indifferent quarters at a
fabulous price, I obtained private lodgings, with the
privilege of taking my meals at an ItaJian restaurant
ncar by.
At tIle hospitable residence of Mr. Brown, I met Mr.
Smead of Cincinnati, 0., a gentleman well known
as the founder of a noblc philanthropic institution
in llis native city, and one of the largest contributors to
the 'Vashington Monument. Like myself, he had
reached Constantinople by way of the Danube and thc
Ellxine. I was delighted to make the acquaintance of
a gentleman of 80 much taste and cultivation-an ac·
quaintance which ripened into fl'iendship beneath the
palm trees of the Nile, and gladdened many lonely
hon rs among the mountains of Syria and Palestine.
Following the Europeanized street on the crest of
tho promontory 'lpon which P era is bu ilt, wo roach tllO
ancient towcr of Gillfttfl.. It is several bundred fcet
STA:\IBOlJL. 381

lIho\'e tho BosphUnls, and furnishes from its top tho


finest view to be had in Constantinople j a \'icw, I Illay
add, second in interest to none in the world. Let us
ascend this ancient Genoese structure, now used fOI' a
fire telegraph.
'We are on the 'Vestem or European side of the
Bosphorns. East of us and on tJle opposi te side is
Scutari, the only Asiatic suburb. At the south, sepa-
rated from \lS by the harbor, and seated proudly on her
low hills is Stamboul, than which earth cannot afford
" a mightier stronghold for a mighty conqueror." The
Bosphorus, whose general course is from north to south,
deflects here somewhat to the east, but just before it flows
into the Marmora, a b ay is given 00' on the European
side. This bay, which forms the harbor of the Golden
liorn, is about half a mile in width, where it communi-
Gates Witll the Bosphorns, and sweeps round some four
miles in to the country. to terminate near the Swect
'Vators of Europe.
1110 Golden ITorn derives the latter part of its name
from its shape, while the epithet Golden is expressive
of the riches wafted by every wind from the most dis-
tant countries into a. harbor secure from storms, an cl
large enough to float the combined navies of the world,
though eapable of being locked with a chain,
Pera crOW11S the summit of the promontory on which
we stand, while its base is s"ki rted by three other
suburbs, TOll-Hane! beginning witll the northernmost,
382 IWliMAN IA.

Galata, and Kassim Plicha. Stamboul herself is of trian-


gular shape, and built upon the tongue of land between
the Golden Horn and the Marmora, the Seraglio being
at the apex of the triangle and opposite SClitari, on the
Asiatic side.
Standing on the Tower of Galata I first understand
why Constantine abandoned ' Sigeum to build a city at
my feet which was long "the bulwark of the Eastern
Empir e, and the benefactress of the world." Here I first
realize why Constantine prefercd Byzance to Rome and
Nicomedia, and made it the Capital of his empire.
Before me are that" two--fold river and triple sea,"
immortalized by classic story and the eyents of modem
times. It was Constanti nople that Fourier proposed
for the Capital of his harmonian Omniarchat. A few
years ago, Constantine, the brother of the present Czar
rind the most ambitious aspirant for the mantIe of the
Greek Emperors, visited Stamboul, and for tIte enjoy·
ment of the magnificent prospect before us ascended
to thc spot where wc now stand. 'Vhen the flattering
Greeks around him poi nted ou t how nature had destined
Constantinople to be a centre of civilizaHon and a seat
of Empire, he remarked: "Ah! what would it lIot
become werc this descendant of a barbaric nomad
dJ'ivcn from the thronc of the Cresars, and the favored
land of your ancestors revert to its rightful owners!"
Before \I S are tlle snow-capped Olympus of Bithy-
Ilia, hills sotlcned with verdure, beautiful islands with
STA ltnOUL. 383

Greck namcs, looking "I' smiU ngly from th<l sparkli ng


Marmora, and a great city, boasting of innumerable
memories and monuments of tbe past. The shores of
Europe and A sia, rivalling each other in beauty and
losing themselves in the purple distance, til(! soft sky
and balmy air of the Orient, the minarets a nd domes,
the towers and crumbling walls, monuments of Grecian,
Byzantine, and Tartar art rising out of groves of cypress,
und, in fact, all the happy accidents that arise from a
marvellous nnion of nature, history, and art, form a
panoramic p icture which I cannot describe.
Favored by Neptune and built by the direction of
Apollo, Constantinople appears to be exempt from all
inconveniences, and;\t th e same time to enjoy all })os-
sible advantages. Like Alexandria she holds the keys
of two Continents, and like Corinth claims sovereignty
over t wo seas. *
Other great cities have risen along the sh ores of the
Mediterranean. But Carthage hardly survived a single
siege by the Romans ; Corinth and Athens, though
rebuilt by Julius Crosnr, were unknown in the middle
ages; and Alexandria became a third ratc city after the
eonqucst of Orner. E ven Rome, "sustained by the
sanctit.y of St. P eter and the grandeur of t he Roman
name," has not kept pace with the City of Constantine.
P ower and dominion have ever gravitated toward
~.bis point, while the commerce of the world hns

,. Gy!li\l~ .
384 IWUMANIA.

flowed to it spontaneously. Stnmboul IS even more


to the Turk than London to the Briton, or Paris to the
Frenchman. Byzantium, long an object of contest
betwccn the Athenians and Lacedemonians, took the
l)nrt of the Romans against Mithridates, and after-
wards became the capitnI of the Eastern Empire.
From the banks of the Bosphorus the Roman legions
ruled Hungary and Dlp'in at the west, A sia Minor and
Syria in tho east, and Greece, the Archipelago, and
Egypt at the south . From the Golden IIom sailed out
those fl eets which can-ied troops to the most distant pro-
villees of the Empire. The Turks exercised in turn the
same dominion, bllt such are tlte uniqueness and im-
portance of Constantinople in a military point of view,
that she did not succumb to the barbarians until a thou-
sand years after the fall of Rome, and the Sultans were
encamped onc hundred years at AdriilllO})le before they
wel"e able to reduce the Capital of the Eastern Empire.
Leaving the tower of Galnta, let IlS pass through
the gate of the old Genocse wall-for P era was once a
Gcnocsc colony,-and descending to the water's edge,
cross the Golden lIom ill n ca'itJuc, or on one of the
two floating bridges connecting Galata with Stamboll!'
'Ve elltcr thc city ncal" the wall of' The Se,"aglio. The
dragoman, n wily Greek, who allows nobody to cheat
liS but himself and llis pnrticnlal" f,"iends, procures don"

keys at the glttC. 'Ve mount for Ollr first stroll in


Stamboul , hilt find the rwimals so inac!i"e that
S'Lt)lllUt:L. ::ISS

a propcllillg iOl'(;C i,; l'cquil'cd illilie rcal' in ble shape of


Turkish boys with cnormolts cudgels, the power behind
the throne being greater than the throne itself!
o t.he delusions of Oriental exaggeration!
'Vhen viewed at. a distance Constantinople seemed
a th ing of ra\'ishing beauty, b ut fairly withi n her walls,
the hallucination v(mished li ke a dream-all t.houghts
of g l'andeur and magnificence passed away, and I won-
dered how a labyrinth of indescribable streets and rows
of t umble-down houses could have prod uced snch a
marvellous ocular (l eeeption. A fe w gorgeous struc-
tures, with a multitude of hovels, have ever been the
type of the Oriental city, and remain so to th is day.
The pious Moslems of Stamboul, like the ancient Egyp-
tians, reserve mal·bIc and gl1lllite for the habitations of
God, and leave to mOI'tal men mere cabins of wood and
clay, no more enduring than themsehes,
The narrow, crooked ways arc l)aved with boulders,
and j udging from theil' present condition, have not been
repaired since the days of Justinian, The mosques,
baths, and other Imb lic edifices are in a few instances
imposing, but nineteen-twentieths of tLe b uildings in
Const..'l.ntinople would disgrace any Christian city . The
E uropeanized dwell hlgs in P era, the new marble palace
of the Sultan noUl' Top-lIane, the first of the kind eyer
erected, and the stone buildings in the Gl'cek qua.rter
of Phmlar, arc also exceptions t.o the gellel'nl 1'1110.
Turkish houses arc Ulmally built of wood, or as is
17
386 I:ot;lL\NIA.

often the CIlSC, stone-work is carried up a jew feet, and


n wooden superstructure then erected. Most of them
nrc so built as to incline over the street, and thus par-
tially shut out t1lC. rays of the Btm. At first I was
afraid to venture locneath the dilapidated structures,
apparently leauing towards each other for mutual sup-
port, but remembering how slowly everything moves in
Turkey, entertained no further fears of being buried
under a mass of rubbish. The windows are provided
with fil agrcc work, through which pretty eyes, be-
longing to the odalisqucs of a wealthy grandee, or to
the wives and daughters of the humble, look down
unobserved upon all that is passing below .
Many of the Turkish restrictions of former limes
have lost their force, but accordi ng to the Moslem law
the dwellings of the failltful should be white, yellow,
b lue, or rose-color, and those of the Armenialls aod
J ews, black or brown. The Greeks were formerly re-
quired to give their honses l\ sombre color. The Turks
leave whole provinces depopulated, but almost pile
dwelling upon d,,,elling in Stamboul, so fond arc they
of the social life of cities so parsimonious arc they,
there, of space. The genins of decay has taken np its
home among the JJU.bitations of the l \l!·ks. The tot-
tering edifice is propped lip t.o the last, and when it
falls its ruins are scarcely removed for the ephemeral
structure to be reared in its stead. Ent tLese frail
tenements arc \lIe callsc of innumerable evils to the
ST,\)IOOt;L. 387

Turks. Conflagrations often sweep lma.y iliousnnds of


houses at n time. Byzantine writers speak of a sea of
fire which consumed twenty thousand dwellings in a.
single night, and from this fact, as well as from others,
we infer that the 81;."1111boul of to·day does not differ
materially in the character of its plebeian llOmes from
the" City of Constantine" in the days of the Emperors.
W hat most strikes the attention of the traveller on
entering Constantinople, is the stillness t hat everywhere
prevails, stillness that is startling and terrible amid the
throbbing life of myriads of human beings. The leaden
silence is unbroken save by the cries of the water-
carrier, and of the it,inerant trader disposing of his
petty fabrics in the streets, or by the feuds of the
canine population, far more cunning and sagacious in
their way than the lean and learned pigs whieh a cele-
brated novelist dwel t upon so largely in his description
of New York. Or an awkward arabi, gilded without
and ornamented within with lily.fingered beauties,
comes rolling and thumping down some stony lane,
drawn by a pair of small g rey oxen, or sorry horses.
The Turkish ladies arc taking air and exercise; and
should you wish to see them unveiled, so as to disclose
the luscious tints and outlines of Eastern beauty, make
a stand by one of the deep ruts, for not even the charm-
conceali ng yasmak is proof against the badness of
Constantinople roads.
As the sli mmer day advances, t he heat becomes in·
388 ROl:l1ANIA.

tolerable, the silence more intense. The sun whose


morning glories purpled the east while his golden
locks were still bathed ill the wuves of th e Marmora,
now blazes like a burning meteor. His blistering rays,
falling directly upon the city, or reflected by the sea
and strait1 penetrate everywhere--penetmte the sli my
depths of mud, the twin sister of yesterday's choking
and blinding dust-penetrate the heaps of ofl'al left to
rot and breed all manner of creeping and sickening
things almost on the steps of the holy mosque&-pene-
trate the pools of liquid corruption into which the last
night's rain has washed the vilest garbage, the bonos of
animals that have died in the streets and had their car-
casses consumed by dogs and ficsh-cating birds, and all
the indescribable fi lth that accumulates in a Turkish city.
It is hot, sweltering, melting hot! The filthy dogs
lie down in the street to be trodden upon, or slink
away into secret places j sheep and goats dirt·besmeared
and covered with vermin, the shadows of lean kine and
east-off donkeys no longer dispute the wily with men
and dogs, but pant und drowse in the shade of tottering
walls and houses. HaTTUJls and water carriers, con·
tented with the few paras earned in the cool of the
day, repose around the fountains, or lie undisturbed on
the cool marble of the mosques. Idlers and the effemi·
nate repair to the bath. There arc no customers save
under the cool arc11es of the bazaars. Traders sleep
over their pipes, or drawing a tllread before the entrance
STAMBOUL. 389

to their li ttle shops, flock to the kahve for Mocha and


sherbet, to enj oy there, in Oriental quietude, the "ju-
CUllda oblivia 'Vital" of H orace.

"Never saw I , never felt a calm 90 deep !


The river glid..,th at its own sweet will;
Dc&r God r the very houses seem asleep,
And all that mighty heart ill lying still"

One feels as if wandering in the silen t city of castem


fiction, whose busy multitudes were in an instant con-
verted by magic into fi xed pulscless stone. The mnz-
zein announces the hour of the mid-day p rayer, and
calls the faithful to the invocation of Allah. Multi-
tudcs still attend, bu t not with the zeal of former times.
Then, merch:mt and artis:'Ul , idler and beggar, hastened
to the mosque, or made the ablution at. the nearest foun-
tain. Then, all Islam inspired by one common motive,
bowed towards Mecca, all Islam pt'onollnced the names
of Allah and the Prophet, and again was lost in the utter
absorption of Eastern wOl'!3hip. Grand idea, tJlat thus
arrested and directed for a time the whole life-cu rrent
of millions, exchanging, as if by magic, repose for the
bustle of roligious p reparation, and the din of traffic for
the silence of devotion!
The j oy of tlle joyful and the sorrmv of the sorrow-
fu l, the toil of the laboring and the ennui of the
idling, the playful sport of children and the apathy of
age, the curiosity of the curious, the anxious care of
the statesman, the enger lmste of the courier, the greedy
300 ROUlILU.iA.

covetouslless of the miser, nnd even Ow anguish of Ihe


culprit led forth to execution, all these were moment.
arily forgotten in a warm feeling of devotion and entire
reliance upon the will of Allah.
• Our desultory course brought us under the arches of
the Aqueduct of Valena, a work bearing the marks of
mallY centuries, but still employed for its original pur-
pose. It is less extensive than similar works in Italy,
but suggests several points of resemblance between
the ancient capitals of the Eastern and Western Em-
pires. The old Rome was built on seven hills along
the Tiber j the lIew R ome on seven llills along tbe Bos-
phorus. The City of Romulus had its Circus Maximus j
the City of Constantine its llippodrome; Rome boasts
of h er seven imperial Basilicas and the Church of St.
Peter; Const'lntinopl e of her seven jmperia~ Mosques
and Santa Sophia. Here, save in power and perpe-
tuity, the rescmblance ends,for as the R omans multiplied
basilicas and baths, the Turks b uild l argely in kiosks
and konaks, cupolas and khans.
The aqueducts supplying Constantinopl e wi t~ fresll
water, have their beginnings among the hills a few
miles distant, where. cool streams are wholly or in part
diverted into them, and reach the city after many
doublings and windings. The A queduct of Vulens is
essentially a Roman work, b ut I was su rprised to leanl
that the modenl structures convey"lng water into Con-
stantinople, and even Borne of the most ancient,
• n· .. ·~_·· .. ,.111
STAltnOUL. 391

were built not by foreign engineers, bnt by rude AI·'


nauts from Eplrns and Albania. These mountaiueers,
who can neither read nor write, and have no idea of
scientific cngineering, relate that their Maccdonian an-
cestors learned the art of hydraulics from the Persians
during the conquest by Alexander the Grea.t.
By water everything lives.
We strolled leisurely through the Bezestan or grand
bazaar. It is an immense labyrinth of narrow streets
roofed overhead and lined with hundreds of little 8hops
of the size of child play-houses. The gates are opened
at sunrise and closed at sunset. You can ride through
the crowds that repair there to buy and sell.
Stamboul is the great depot of Oriental merchandise.
Hither, by the E uxine and the Mediterranean, by tIle
Nile, and over vast seas of floating sand, are brought
the productions of Oriental Asia, of India, of Europe,
and of Africa. It is the rendezvous of merchants who
deal in gold-dust, perfumes, ostrich-feathers, vestments
of many-tinted radiance, and the tissues of "woven
air" made to envelop Eastern beauty.
On the Asiatic shore of the Bosphonl8 meet the
Caravans of DamasCllS and Bagdad importing the ri ch
fabrics of Bombay and Calcutta; and vessels still an chor
in the Golden Horn laden with troops of ponting Nu-
bians and jetty Abyssinians to be sold for slnve~.
In the B ezestan you may sec opals, diamonds of
Visapour and Golconda, pearls of Ophir, tahnns~ and
392 R OUlI ANI,\ .

tarbouches heavy with golden ornaments, and all the


rich tissues embroidered by the henna-tipped fingers of
the East. H ere you can purchase gold and ivory
wrought slippers, worth ten thonsand dollars, or an
humble article adapted to the most plebeian foot. H ere
you can buy a pipe, that greatest luxury of the E ast,
worth, with the amLcr mouth·piece and tIle rings of
precious stones, the price of a fortune.
In the place ·where curious weapons arc exposed for
sale the h:lYeller has before him the whole picturesque
arsenal of ancient Isl am; saddles and trappings worthy
of the swift coursers of the H aftar ; pieces of armor
with jewelled incrustations that may have Bcned Saladin
or IIaronll Al R aschid , with blades of Khorassan, Al-
banian pistols, and fiorce yataghans in endless profusion,
and of almost incalculable value.
Never before did I feel like calling sil ver trash, and
look with contempt upon the purchasing power of gold
ducats.
The treasures of the Beztstan belong to wealthy Mus·
8ulmans, who sit all day like tailors, looking grn\'ely
llpon their merchandise, and carele s, nppa cntly, of'the
chances of trade. 'Vishing to purchase a couplc
of chibouques, I reined my donkey np at one of the
stalls where pipes were sold, and directed D emetrius to
inquire the price. The well turbaned :Mussulman
twitched the muscles of his eyes, expelled the smoke
from his nostril;:.. and answered,
STA~II:or:r," 393
"Two hundred piastres, 0 howaJji."
'I will give you fifty."
The man of ample trowsers throws back his h ead, and
raises his eyes as if calling heaven to witness tile in-
justice done him by naming so Iow a figure.
"I will g ive you fifty piastres."
Three minutes of silence; my donkey, seized by a
sudden caprice, thrusts his nose ill the face of the Turk,
and brays in a most spasmodic and excruciating man-
ner. E verybody laughs.
"God is great!" exclaims the merchan t. "Take tlac
pipes, 0 howadji, for one hundred and seventy-five
piastres."
"Impossible, 0 Effendi! D emetrius, let us go."
'Ve ride but a few steps when the merchant calls us
back. He invites us to dismouut, and be seated on the
cushion. A servant brings l ighted ehibouqlles and CliPS
of coffee from the adjacent S]lOp. D iscursive conver-
sation in monosyllables occupies a few minutes, whi ch
has its usc in a cOllntry where there are no newspapers.
"How much will the howadj i givc1"
"Seventy-five piastres, and count the money in
gold."
The merchant nodE, which means, "No, Effendi,
they cost me that sum ;" and the grave pipe-dealer,
who, a short time before, consumed his smok e in stoical
silence, now expatiates eloquently upon the value and
perfection of the two chibouques.
17*
39;1

" H ere arc eighty piastres for them."


" In the !lame of Mohammed takc them for one
hlmdred and twenty-" after three minutes of silence.
" I cannot."
" The A merican howadj i has much gold ; by my
two eyes they are ch eap at onc hundred !"
" H ere are ninety."
The Mussulman lays hold of his j etty beard. " ] {''lIJ-
'fMt! (God hath willed it;) the pipes are t11ine, 0 110-
wadj i !" and a bargain, involving the outlay of ~. 50,
and half an hour of parleying, is closed with the
dignity of potentates traffickiIlg in provinces and
k ingdoms.
The Oriental bazaar is an adj unct of the caravan,
the b usiness habits of the Turks remaining much the
Bame as among thei r nomadic ancestors. Yet the bazaars
of Constantinople arc to the Turks what the agora
was to the Greeks. The Moslems are believers i ll classi·
fication only when applied to slippers, sables, and
similar articles exposed for sale.
H ere is the resort of the Cairo merchants, there
high capped P ersia ns traffic in the rich shawls of
Thibet and Cashmire, and ill a long, arched way,
through which one can pass when going u p from the
Golden H om to St. Sophia, arc sold the drugs and pre-
cious l)crfumcs of th e Orient. In one street you find
not hing but cc.ppcr vcssels, whilc another is occupied
by scribes who hur--y tl1(' m6clvcs in writi ng letters and
s,..\~mou L. 3fl5

copying manllscripts. They hold the paper in the hand,


n~d write neatly with a pointed reed floom right to
left. A slaye sbmds by with the inkstand, whieh when
its long handle is thrust under the girdle, might easily
be mistaken for a wcapon designed to shed blood instead
of ink.
'Vith the Moslems the ink of thc learned is equal
in val ue to the blood of the martyrs.
The bazaars arc the resort of the idlers of Stnmbonl.
111eyoften become thc theatre of curious intrigues and
entanglements from the fact that Tu rkish females enjoy
more freedom thcre than in other public places. On a
certain day not mally months ago, says Rolland, a
beautiful Moslem female might have been seen stand-
ing before one of tIle shops of the Bezestan. H er eyes,
moist and expressive of agitntion, and an al)pearanee
of discontent which the transparent yasmak did not
conceal, indicated that she was not at that moment ex-
periencing the philosophical quietude which her reli-
gion both recommends and inspires.
"See," said she to the aged female who accompanied
he.; "sec, my motller, if my objections to this union
arc not well founded. A husband who is old, ugly, and
infirm! 'Yho says he is enamored of me, when he is
only j ealous ! 'YhQ bestows ten times Jess care upon
mc than upon the chief of his wives! Who lets me
languish in solit\lcle without l)roenring me a single
l)leasn re! He is rich, it is trl1e; but he is also Rvari..
396 ROUMANIA.

cious j and what ad\rantage to me hiG wcaltll if I am not


permitted to share it with him 1 See how I am clothed !
' Vhnt jewels docs he give me? lIe would even for-
bid me to visit my parents and friends ! All! I do not
sec a female pass by without sighing for her lot j and
especially do I envy those Frank ladies who act as tlley
wish, who speak as they please, and whose husbands
adorn them with the choicest presents afforded by the
Beze81an."
At the conclusion of this philippic, to which the
mother listened attentively, the two Mussulman ladies
entered the allOp, fi lled with Moslem and Christian
purchasers, who regarded with silent admiration the
grace and beauty of the discontented Aycsha.
They woro follo·wed by a YOllng !Hall whose dress
and figure marked him for a child of the Orient. lIe
was a Levantine, the only son of an opulent Genoese
family long established in Constantinop le. Under-
standing Turkish pelfeetly, he had not lost a word 01'
the COllyersatioll. H is curiosity was excited to leanl
more cOllcerning the fair Moslem flf nineteen summers.
TIle latter lavished naif terms of aclmil·ation upon the
maryels of' taste and beauty exhibited by the merchant.
Chagrined at not being able to make so "alliable
purchases as the Christian ladies, she criticised their
dress with cutting raillery, ~lIld laughed outright when
the poor Europeans attempted to tryon the bracelets
and slippers designed for the more delicate limbs )f the
fiTA:\IOOUL. 397

daughtors of the Orient. Then her former sadness


returned, and she tilrew herself upon the divan, saying
in a low voicc, "IIow happy are these Christians in
having husbands whom they love, and by whom they
UI"C beloved!I!
The moment was favomble for a suitor. Such in
fact our Lcvantine had already beeomlil, He approached,
and in a low tone of voice addressed the fair Ayesha.
'VI die the mother was engaged in looking over the
cashmil'es and jewels, the youth pourcd into the cars of
the beautiful Moslem that intoxicating melody of words
which alw.ays fascinates the daughters of Eve. A half
hour mom, and the enamored one had accepted the pre-
sent of a magnificent necklace. It was, moreo,er,
secretly arranged that she should return the next dny
undel' the pretext of paying the generolls Levantine,
The meeti ng on the morrow was followed by another
and another. The mother, deeei"ed at first, afterwan:ls
became an accomplice, and the two wooers wore
shol,tly the most passionate and happy lovers in the
world,
The jealous and avaricious old husband happened
to be detained in Sy!'ia by important business, As he
had no eunuch, Ayesha Ii ved under the protection of'
her own family and enjoyed almost unlimited freedom.
But the hest things have an end,
The husband rctnmed to Stamboul the very moment
when lenst expected. On seeing him onter his honse,
398 lWUllAN IA.

Ayesha, without calculating the consequences of SUell


a step, fled to her lover j and the latter was under the
llCcessity of disclosing the bonne aventure to his parents,
declaring at the same time that he would live or die
with the object of his affection. I n former times they
would have been bound together in a leathern sack
and made to kiss the blue waves of the Bosphorus. The
first care was to conceal them. The Sardinian minister
was induced to intercede, but limited his good offices
to the Levantinc. The latter protested that if separated
from Ayesha, he would deliver himself up to the Turkish
authorities.
The young wife had a sister attached to the service
of ODe of the sultanas, who offered to intercede for her.
Informed that they were willing to overlook in part her
offence, she responded that death was preferable to a.
separation from her lover. This persistent heroism in
a passion so sincere interested every one acquainted
with the circumstances. IDgh dignitaries interfered,
and the offcnding ones were enabled to take refnge on
the steamer for Egypt. The Genoese merchant at last
induced tJle Turkish husband to relmdiate his wife in
consideration of several thousand piastres. Difference
in religion then remained the only obstacle to a nnion
pursued through so many difficulties. Thus at present
the father of the Levanti ne maintains that Ayesba is
ahout to become a Christian, while the mother of
Ayesha insists that. tll(' young llllsband is on the point
399
of embracing the faith of Islam. After all what matt.ern
it 1 God is greut! and the religion of lovers-is it
not love i •
From the B czestan Dcmctl1us conducted us to one
of the Turkish baths in the vicinity. There afC said t.o
be morc than three hundred of these establishments in
Constantinople, some of which arc built of marble, but
in general their external appearance is far from im-
posing. The door is curiously ornamented with ara-
b esques, and we enter upon a mosaic pavement. The
principal rooms afC circular, and dimly l ighted by
means of small convex pieces of glass insertcrl in the
domes above.
The tcUaks, or servants of the bath, were museular
Turks, dressed like athletes. From long confinement
in a h eated atmosphere, their tawny skins IlUd grown
yellow and glossy like parchment. One of them assisted
me to undress in the small antechamber, twisted an
enormous turban round my head, and thrust my feet
into wooden clogs four inches high, in order to protect
the tender soles from tJw blistering heat of the marble
pavement. These preparations completed, I hobbled
after him into a large inner room, arched over head
and heated from below. Its atmoSI)here was surc11argcd
with a fiery and penetratillg vapor, which blinded my
eyes, and took away my breath. I wished 10 escape
from the heated fu rnace, but in vai ll. I n a moment,
hnwcvcr, a copiolls flow of Verspirution hurst from tJle
400 ROCliANU.

pores of my body, and I soon felt comparatively cool,


though breathing steam.
They informed me that there was another room stiU
wanner, usuaUy preferred by Mussulmans, and espe-
cially by females, who, the reader may be aware, can
both give and cndlUC morc calorific rays than malee.
Through the vapory atmosphcl"(l I could see the dim
outliucs of several human bei nge nearly naked and
apparently engaged in extracting the life from 88 many
prostrate victims. Could it be that I was in the strange
and silent kingdom of the gnomes ! Alas for the sea
of pleasures I had anticipated I Mustapha, into whose
leathery hands I resigned myself with the meekncss of
an infant~ extended my body upon a marble slab, and
began a succession of deluges, alternately torrid and
frigid. Then, with rose-perfumed soap, and the soft
fibres of tile palm, he manipulated upon me with such
dexterity, that in 1\ few moments I found myself en-
':clo}led in a white and fragrant cloud of tepid saponi.
fied vapor, which, however, disa}lpearcd like magie on
his immersing me in cold water.
Under these cloudy metamorphoses, delugingtl-,
soapings, and 1)hUlb"ngs, my BOul and body were
greatly in danger of being separated from each other.
I merely rcmembel' looking up into the india-nlbber
face of my torturing demon, and imploring for mercy.
That calcndar of inflictions was at last exhausted.
'Vound rOllnd with cnrions llieccs of cloth, I was con
,

STAllOOUJ.. 401

ducted from the infernal region to (l. large airy room,


and told to extend myself upon 1\ d ivan. A lighted
chibouq uc willi a g lass of deliciOlls sherbet brought
back a realizing sense of my identity. Then began a
course of frictiolls, kneadillgs, and other heroic opera-
tions, which must be felt in order to be appreciated. I
was sprinkled with rose-water, and handled like a loaf
prcparafo l"y to haki ng. Again wore soul and body ill
danger of losing COITII)il.ny. My palms and soles, mauc
60 sensiti ve by tho bath, were rasped with pmui ce
stones, and tho parchmcilt-skiuncd demon of a tellak,
as if to disable me for life, insisted IIpon cracking every
joint in my body, beginning wilh the fingers lUld
ending with the toes.
:My sufferings terminated, I lay extended I know
not how long upon t he divan, sipping cups of fra grimt
'Mocha bctwcen puffs of the j ewcllcd chibouque, and
experiencing nil the delicious sensations to which a
T urkish bath can alonc givc,.isc. The cntaneous bliss-
fulness p roduccd by the Oriental barbel', the dl'e/uny
clysinm of kaln';', t hc placid iutoxication of the kie/,
and even the seventh hcaven of hasheesh, can hardly
be compared with that etherial sensation of limpidity,
that marvellons flexibi lity and oiliness of b ei ng, which
I expcricnced before dressing, and some timc aftel'-
wards. Cost for bath, eoffec, and latakieh, with back-
sheesh to the tella~':IJ, four piastres, or sixteen cellts.
On certain nfteMloons of the week these establish.
402 ROUllANJA.

ments are open only to females. Large parties of Turk-


ish ladies usually repair to th e same bath with their ser-
vants, to spend several hours in its enervating pleasures ;
and as one passes by these sombre buildings, he often
hears the ringing laugh of merry girls, or the song of
female improvisatorcs hired for the occasion, and can
imagine what hoydenish romping, dalliance with water,
and playfulness there must be within .


CHAPTER XVI.

THE WALLS OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

"A chaam,
As of two mountaillS, in tho wall of Stamboul,
ADd iu that ghastly hreach, tho;) I slamitcs,
Like gianta Oil the ruina of III world."

MORJ:: historical than all else at Stambo1l1 arc the


walls that surround the city. They occupy nearly
the place of the old fortifications erected by order
of Theod08ius II., and demolished by Septimius SCYC-
rus. Although" after the Parthenon and Dalbec,
they are the most magnificent TuillS which attest a
seat of empire," it is too evidellt that Constantine the
Great built them in haste. Segments of broken col-
umns, and pieces of sculptured marble 11.1'0 strange-
ly intermingled with brick-work and rough blocks
of granite. The walls of Constantinople arc twelve
miles in extent, and provided with more than fi ve
hundred towers. Most of the twenty-eight gates have
been celebrated in history.
Constantinople has been besciged twenty-nine times,
ROUlIANIA.

and eight times taken and pillaged. Old Byzance saw


before her walls Athenians, MacedOollians, R Oomans,
Thracians, B itliyninlls, Celts, and P ersians. The city
Oof Constantine has trembled befOon:~ GOoths, Huns, Arabs,
Persians, Saracens, R ussians, Bulgarians, Hungarians,
and Turks. During these variOous vicissitudes of fortune
there have been encamped befOore her gates Oold Greek
COommanders and Oold R Ooman emperOors, new Greek
autOocrats and new Roman Cresars, Arabian caliphs
and Bulgarian hats, SlavOonian kings and Ottomnn
sultans.
On a pleasant afternoon we rOounded the point of the
SeragliOo, and oared leisurely alOong the wall which skirts
the Sea of Marmora, rending the inscriptions Oon its gates,
and tracing here and there its wave-wOorn fonndatiOons
far dowll in the crystal water. Arriving at the 8Outl,-
west angle Oof triangular Stamboul, we disembarked at
the Chateau Oof Seven Towers, the Irde-KfnIk of the
Turks. Th is M nssulman Ba(tile, whieh has witnessed
the denOlUment Oof so many tragedies begun in the Sera-
gliOo, was founded by ZenOo, fini shed by Alexander
COomnenns, and rebuilt by MOohammed, the Conqueror.
But fOour Oof the seven tOowers have been standing since
the earthquake of 1768. They served al ike as a fortress,
treasury, and prison fOor the ambassadors of powers at
war with tho Ttuks. Hither the dethroned Sultana
were dragged by an enraged populace. H ere six or
seven imperial hends have rOolled tOo the earth, and these
'I'll!>; WALLS OF CONST.A~TINO I'LE. 405

gloomy walls have often been crowned with hideous


wreaths of grinnifJg skulls.
But tllis ancient castle, in which the Athenians are
said to have kept their treasures, is now merely a mOllU-
ment of the past. No stranger is -a dmitted within its
gates. I ts dungeons, its whispering halls and rOOll1s of
torture are descrted. The laughing waves of the Mar-
mora which break against its foundations,

"Conscious of their endeared rotrcat,"

no longer blush with human blood or mingle their


melancholy dirge with battle-cries, while the jasmine
and the ivy have kindly woven a green mantle over the
crumbling towers, like a veil of forgetfulness.
,
Tunling away from this tableau, g randiose alike in its
majesty of ruins and in the sou venirs of llistory, we
mount the horses provided for us, to ride along the walls
which defend Stamb0l11 on the Thraeian or land side.
Beginning at the Seven Towers they sweep over the
steep and rugged hills to t he suburb of Eyoub, on the
Golden Horn, four miles distant from the Marmora.
The ray:> of the declining sun give a golden tinge to
the distant mou ntains of Thracc, and impart a serenc
and indescribable beauty to the crumbling towers and
bastions. Beyond th em is Stamboul, low and compact,
merely the minarets and domes of the mosques rising
to view above the lofty walls, while on the outside vast
cemeteries occupy most of the space in the direction of
406 n OI;lIANJA.

Eyoub. The burren hill~ gradually lose themselves in


the Thracian plain on whlch the squadrons of the Nizam
occasionally go through their evolutions. Hetc and
there a shepherd may be seen guarding his little flock.
Dreadful solitude to be experienced beneath the walls
of a great city!
Thc very genius of decay broods over the monuments
of power and military valor bcfore us. But one can
hardly conceive of nobler or more picturesque ruins
than these triple lines of fortifications, wall rising above
wall, and ditch sinking behind ditch. Vines have
clambered far up the crumbling towers as if to sustain
their tottering strength j and the thousand plants and
shrubs of a lu..'turiant vegetation, compassionately con-
cealing the ravages of time and war, line the silent walls,
from which once looked down serried hosts, glittering
with shield and spear. The moat, said to have been more
than a hundred feet deep, is ncarly filled with rubbish;
and the soil, enriched with the blood of so many battles,
bears flowers, and shrubs, and cresses.
The mouldering battlements, the unfilled breaches,
the melancholy views inspire painful emotions. Behind
these ramparts, which the wretched Greeks foolishly be-
licved impregnable, crumbled away the last wreck of
t "!, g" at Roman empire Beginning with a single
city on tIle banks of the Tiber, shc overspread almost
the entire globe, to shrink again to the dimensions of a
single city lliong the Bospl:ofn s. Yet under the pro-
THE WALLS Oi" COXST.\NTlNQI'LE. '0·,
":t

tcction of these ruins the empire of the CroStll'S survi\'cd


long centuries until the formation of new societies, p ro-
longing antiquity down to the middle ages, and forming
a g rand connecting l ink between the world of Rome
tlnd the world of the present.
As I rode by the gates, rendered memorable by
great histori cal events, my imagination pictured the
scones enacted there centuries ago. Deforo the Aurea,
or Golden Gate, now walled up like many otJ.lers around
Stamboul, I beheld the triumphal processions of the
EIllI)Crors, which entered the city at this l)oint from the
time of Tbeodosins the younger. By the gate of Adri·
anople loomed up before me the wild hosts of the A vars
repulsed by Hcraclius and bis brave Greeks. Still fur-
ther on I paused for a moment where Alexills Comne-
nus entered the city to llsnrp the throne, and where t he
imagination, busy with the historical past, r epresen ted
.Tustinian the Great making his triumphal entry, met
by the prefect of the city and the entire Senate-
a scene worthy of the historical painter. Before the
gate of St. Romanus I conjured up the grand events of
the last siege of Constanti nople, the fatal assault on tlte
29th of May, 1453, and the death of Constantine, who,
however he may have li ved, died like a Crosar.
Years had been spent by the Ottomans in making
preparations for this remarkable siege. On the sixth
of April Mohammed appeared before the city and en
camped behind the hill whicll faces the gate of Caligaria.
408 ROU)lANIA.

A hundred thousand cavalry with curveting steeds and


all the equestrian finery of standards and trappings in
which the Turks delight, formed the co nfines of the
camp on yonder plain. A hundred thousand active
besiegers composed the right wing toward the Seven
Towers, and fifty tbousand the left wing, extending as
fll. r as the palace of the Blachemes, in the direction of
the Golden H orn.
A. moush'ous cannon, cast at Adrianople by a Hun-
garian renegade from the service of Constantine, was
dragged before the gate of St. R omanus, also called
Cannon Gate, or the Top--Kapousi, since the siege. This
piece, unquestionably the most enormous mentioned in
the histolT of siege artillel-Y, required for its conveyance
fifty yoke of oxen. Two hundred men marched on each
side of tL o frame of thirty waggons on which it was
sl1ppor ted, "to mainhlin the equilibrium of the rolling
weight." The bore is dcclared to have been twoh'o
palms in diameter, and in tho first trial, which veiled
Adrianopie with smoke and was heard the d istance of'
.oevenllieagues, a stono ball, weighing nearly a thou-
liand ponnds, was projected a mile, and then buried
itself 11 fathom doo]) in the earth. Se \'cl1 hund red mell
wcre appointed to sen"o th is cnormous engi ne of war.
A IIungarian envoy from IIlInyad, thcll in the Ottoman
camp, guye dil'cctiolls for its propcl' lIse, but Wilh all
thcir eager haste it cOl1 ld he (li scktl'ged bllt se\'cll ti mes
a day. After a few trials the b razell·mouthed monster
Tin: WA LLS OF CQNSTAYTINOl'LE. 409

burst, killing the fouuder and mallY soldiers besides.


Flanking this enormous cannon were two others of
the same calibre, while ill all, fourteen batteries were
opened against the wall of Constantinople on the TIII'n-
cian side,
In this remarkable siege both ancient and modern
instruments of warfare were employed, Y olleys of
musketry attended clouds of spears and arrows, and
parks of awkward artillery aided the slow work of balis--
t.'lS, catapults, and movable turrets, By means of the
last the tower of St. llomanus was at last overtul'necl.
The Turks, however, were dl'iven ti'om the breach and
their enormous wooden turret set on fire, The ncxt
morning, when Moha.mmcd saw the ditch cleared and
the tower of St, llomanns built up as strong as before,
be swore by the hundred and twenty-four thousand
p rophets that he never belie\'ed the Greeks able to
accomplish so gl'eat a wO l'k in a single night.
Day followed day and effort succeeded effort, but
without Sll ccess to the Ottomans. Their batteries were
frequently dismounted by the weB-directed aim of the
besieged, The soldiers of Mohammed, hurl\.SSed every
moment by the inextinguishable Greek fire and
:floods of boili ng oil, were kept constantly engaged in
replacing the wooden towers, destl'Oyed by tLe artfu l
enemy, The deep trench, fill ed by the Tu rks during
the day, was as uniformly emptied by the persevering
Greeks during the followin g night,
18
410 ROUllANIA.

Mohammed at last hit upon a bold project to gain


possession of the Golden lIol1}. During a single night
he caused seventy galleys and brigantines of froOl two
to five banks of oars to be conveyed by land from
Beshiktasch, on the Bosphol'l1s, ncross to the termi-
nation of the harbor, the mouth of which was closed ·
with a chain. The distance was between five and six
miles, and the way led across high hills and deCI) val-
leys. The planks over which the vessels were drawn
worc anointed wi th the jut of sheep and oxen. Upon
the IlrolV (If each stood tllC captaill, and at the stern of
each the pilot. The sails werc spread, the trumpets
sounded, the drum.s beat, and at the return of day the
besieged saw with equal surprise and terror the seventy
Turkish vessels cast anchor in the Golden Horn, and
range themselves before their walls. The place where
they slid into the Golden Horn is still pointed out to
the traveller at the stairs of Sltah·kuk, back of the
Okmeidan.
"At the sight of this spectacle they understood,"
says a Turkish historian, "dlat t.heir ruin was about to
be accomplished. 'Vords c8caped Jlot from their
mouths: the dark gloom of despair settled upon their
hearts." A prediction long before spread abroad among
the people, announced that Constantinople would fall
wben they should sec 8hip8 8ailin(j uptm the land.
Seven weeks bad pnssed. The Greeks still mountcd
the ramparts and repelled eyery attack. Fonr of their
THE WA.LLS OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 411

towers, llOweyer, had been demolished, a large breach


was open at the gate of St. Romanus, and the Ottoman
army occupied the f08lJl!, half filled with the ruins of
the fortifications.
Mohammed, either to obey the law of the Koran,
which enjoins that peace be offered to an enemy before
extermination, or to learn whether the city would be
able to hold out longer, sent a last message to Const:lI1-
tine. Arrived before the Emperor, who was surrounded
by his court, Espeudiar-Oghlou, the envoy of Moham-
med, exhorted him to disarm the wrath of the Sultan
by a prompt and entire surrender, and tJlCreby spare
the inhabitants the miseries of slavery. But in the
conneil which the Emperor immediately convoked, the
voice of honor an(1 of eourage reduced to despail' was
alone heard. •
"If the Sultan will grant ~aec, and in respecting
it, imitate the example of his predecessors," responded
Constantine to the envoy of Mohammed, " I give thanks
to God. Moreover, no one ofOlOse who have besieged
Constantinople has either lived or reigned a long time.
lrohammed can impose a t ribute upon m e, but never
will I surrender the city which I haye sworn to defend ."
Behold to what Constantinople had already fallen I
From a city wiOl a population of a million souls when
taken by the crusaders in 1204-, she contained in 1453
not more than 200, 000 iuilabitallt.s. The emperor
onlercd a census to be taken of tile citizens, i nclnding also
412 ROUMANIA.

the monks able and willing to bear anns, Rnd the


number fell short of fi ve thousand. The actual force
was limited to seven thonsand Greeks, many of whom
were mercenaries, and two thousand Genoesc soldiers,
with fonrteen armed '\'essels, And at the very moment
when the empire wus to succumb, Constantine Paleo-
logus was the butt (If the sarcasms and maledictions of
his fanatical subj ects for having invoked, e ven in vain,
the aid of the Occident. "No!" cried the Greeks in
the Imblic places, and under the windows of the Im-
perial palace; "No! we want neither the Latins nor
their aid. Away with the abominable worship of the
Azymites!" "As for me," said the Grand-duke No-
tharas, "I would a thousand times rather see in Con-
stantinople the turban of the Turk, than the tiara of the
Pope."
Never before in Constantinople had the strife of
religions facti ons risen so high j never before had schis-
matic hatred burned with such fury. Greeks and
Latins fought with each othcr, instead of uniting for
the p ublic defence, The churches were empty. St.
Sophia, after the semblance of a union of the schisma·
tics, and the desecration of a J~at i n mass, was deserted
by the Greeks, as if their temple had bcen changed into
a mosque or synagogue. The monks and nuns rejected
evcry confessor who had recognised the henotieon, the
decree uniting the Latins and the Greeks. Priests
l'cfllf>cd the F-nCl'amen t tl) the dyillg I)f the opposite
,

- -


TIIB WALLS ()Io' CON$1'ANTISO f'LL 413

party; and whttt to m~\ily was a g reater scrmdal, a


novice adopted the faith and even the costume of the
Mussulmans, ate meat in Lent, and ndored tlIe Prophet.
At the sight of the fleets and armies of the son of
Mumd, despair seized upon the inhabitants of the ciiy.
Gloom and terror ell vel oped them as a shroud. Their
active imagination discovered eyerywhel"C the signs of
celestial anger. The prediction to wIdell I have alluded
passed from mouth to mouth. Flamiug meteor'S, sinister
prophecies, and pions revelations, troubled their trem-
bling souls. They exhumed from the archives of the
state a pretended prophecy of the Emperor Leo y r.,
that the empire of the East, was about to pass away.
In the con rt-yal'd of the Mosque of Bajazet n., there
is 811 ancient })orphyry sarcophagus, now mueh broken,
and unnoticed alike by Moslems and Christians. Y et
it is said to haye contained the ashes of Constantine the
Great, and in former times was, doubtless, esteemed a
valuable relic. Upon the cover of the sarcophagus,
now nowhere to be found, there is declared to have been
a Greek inscription, consisting only of initial letters, the
meaning of which the learned sought in vain to de-
termine.
In the fifteenth century a certain Genadius, who
afterwards became Patriarch of Constantinople, inter-
preted the inscriptioll as meaning that Constantinople
would soon fall into the power of the 1'l1I"ks, but that
the latter should ultimately be expelled by a. "blonde
414 ROUMAN IA.

nation" coming from the North, and un iting with Lbe


:mcient inhabitants. The golden-mouthed Chrysostom
foretold the fall of Constantinople, and a prophecy an-
nouncing the destruction of the Eastern empire was
fonn d among the oracles attributed to the Sibyl of Ery-
throllS.
It is related that Michael, the first of the Paleologi,
having inquired of a priest what would be the destiny
of the cllll)ire under his descendants, the lll.ttcr ex-
claimed merely, "jJfamaimi I" But this word, withont
meaning in itself, indicated, said they, by the number
of its letters, that there would be but seven emperors of
the family of the Palcologucs, and that the last would
be dri Yen from the throne. A siQ)ilnr presa.ge was ex-
tended to the family of Osman. I t likewise would give
but sevcn p rinces, and then lose the heritage of the
Seldjoukids.
A Byzantine writer reports that while Hunyad was
deploring his defeat after the battle of K 0880Va, an old
man came up to console him, and said; "Since the
Greeks have not been exterminated, the Christians shall
al ways bo unfortunatc: to lmt an end to their reverses,
Constantinople must fall into the power of the Turks."
Thoy spoke also of the prediction of Leo tIle Wise,
bused upon the discovery of two tablets, found in the
monastery of St. George. These tablets were divided
into a ccrta;u /lumber of parts, and eontained J one the
series of Greek emperors, the othel' fhut of the l)atri-
'IIiB WALLS OF COXSTAXTL'OI'l.B. 415

archs from the time of Leo. But upon both of them


were vacant spaces ; to olle tablet was wanting the
name of the last empcror, and to the other that of the
last patrial·ch.
These predictions were the lugubrious shadows of
coming evonts, having their origin in a gelleral belief
that the empire of the Constantines was about to pass
away. Thus in all times there have not been wanting
similar predictions, some contradicted, :Uld others con·
tinned by what has actually taken place. Nor does his·
tory despisc the light which such presages cast upon the
times in which they arc made and believed. There are
veritable l)rophecics, so to speak, emanating from a su-
perior mind, skilled in penetrating tile essence of things
and able to judge of the future from the past. Others
there arc based only upon humiliating superstitions,
and provoked by appearances that are purely external
and aecident.'l!. The former, having their origin in &
profOWld knowledge of the course of humnn affairs, do
not address themselves to the superstitious instinct of the
masses, and conscquentJy CKcreise hut little in1lucllce
over them. The latter, born in passion, and prop agated
by ignorance, hZlVe frequently served as a lever to
move the unthinking multitude.
The study of these predictions often enables us to
penetrate more rapidly the spirit of an epoch, and com·
prehend the character of a nation, and the condition of
a goverllment more clellrly, than long experience or
416

patient investigation. Nations, like iudi vidllals, prepare


themselves for good or c\·i l fortulle, nccording as their
presages of the future hu\'c been dictated by a con-
sciousness of power (H' of importilllcc. Accidental pro-
phecies have, indeed, sometimes decided a victory or a
defeat, but those which a people continually repeat
to themselves, contribute necessarily to their prosperity
or decadence, and must be regarded as among the
active clements of their destiny. They reveal the inte-
rior dispositions in which they had their birth, and of
which they are a fuithful image. Thus courage and
ioree, which arc conscious of power, prophesy victory.
Feebleness and baseness, in l)l'ctending to be condemned
by an iITcsistiblc fatality, seek beforehand an exeuse for
their defeat. These general principles find abundant
ap])lication in the history of the prophecics, of both
Christians and Turks, relative to the fall of Constan-
tinople.*
The Ottomans, whose religion condemlls alike snper-
stition and incredulity, ascribe to A llah and their pro-
l)het alone the power of reading the future. Said Mo-
hammed one day to his disciples :
"Have you not heard sl)cak of a city, one side of
which looks toward the land, and the other two sides
toward the sea 1"
"Yes, envoy of God."

'" Von Hamu:er.


TilE \\" ,'LLS OF CO::'STANTINOPLE. 411

"Verily, I (l cclnre unto you, the last hour of judg.


ment shall not come until that city hath been conquered
by se'lenty thousand sons of Ishak. Approaching the
ramparts, they shall combat neither with arms, nor with
balistes and catapults, but with these word s : 'There is
no other God than God: God is great.' At their sound
one of the walls looking toward the sea shall faU down,
then the other, and finall y the raml)urts on the side of
the land j after which the fai thfu l shall make their vic-
torious entry into the city."
These prophecies had so powerful an influence upon
the Arabs, that seven times under the Caliphs they
attempted to gain possession of Constantinople. During
the longest of these sieges they cultivated the field s
on the Thracian side of the eity,sowing and harvesting
for seven Sllccessive years.
"Mohammed the Conqucror," says Erliya Effendi,
"was governor of Magnesia dnring the lifetime of his
father Murad II. and spent his time in studying history
and conversing with excellent men, from whom he
acquired a perfect knowledge of the commentaries on
the Koran and thc sacrcd traditions. Having learned
that !lIe infidels from Frangistan (France) had landed
at Acre, the port of J ernsalem, taken possession of As-
kalon, and invaded the dominions of the Sultan of
Egypt, from which they carried off mnch plunder and
many prisoners, he was so much grieved that he shed
tears.
IS'
418 ROUhlAN I,\.

" W ccp not, my Em})cror," said Ak·Shcmsu, " for


on the day when thon shalt conquer Stamboul, thou
shalt eat of the spoils and sweetmeats taken by the
unbelievers from the castles of Acro, but remember, on
that day, to bQ an acccptahlc~udgc to the faith ful." At
the same time tnking off the shawl twisted round his
turban he placed it on Mohammed's head, and announ-
ced the glad tidings of his b eing the future conqueror
of Stumboul. They then road the noble trad itions of
what the P rophet foretold concerning Constantinople.
Mohammed on this, covering his head with Shomsn'a
turban, said, " Affairs are retric\'cd in their season," and
returned to his studies.
The ambitious Sultan was fond of adding to the
namaz, or midday prayer, another prediction of the
prophet: " The faithfu l· shan certainly possess Con-
stantinople: most fortunate of commanders will be that
commander; most fortunate of annies that anny."
Such was the condition of affairs whcn the son of
Murad encamped before the walls of Constantinople,
with 250,000 men; when, in the lofty language of n
Turkish historian, " The luminous imperial army,
resemhling a sea without limits, precipitated itself in a
thousand impetuous torrents upon the c;\stles of dark-
ness."
The general assault was to take place on the twenty·
ninth of May, the fatal day to ConstantinQple, as pre-
dicted by the astrnll)gcr·s in the camp f)f the Snltan.
TilE WALLS OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 4-l0

On the e\-ening of the twenty-seycnth Mohammed


assembled the chiefs of the army. To them and his
soldiers, he promised the entire booty, reserving to him-
self only the houses, und the land llpon which the city
stood. To those who should most distinguish them-
selves he offered timan and even 8andjaks, and to the
soldier who would first scale the walls, the government
of his richest province. Seated on horseback and
holding in the right hand his golden sceptre, the Sultan
swore by the prophet of :Mecca, by the solll of h is
father, by his children, and by his cimiter, that the
Koran should prevail. His haraJlgue was received
with acclamation, and shout after shout rolled along the
long l ines of the soldiers of Islam. Dervishes ran
through the camp promising an eternal youth amid
the fresh rivers and streams of paradise to such as
should fall with arms in tlleir hands.
The day preceding the assault each one was enjoined
to fast and make seven ablutions. At night-fall the
trumpet gaye the signal for a general illumination_
Then all the tents along tllC Bo.sphorlls and on the
heights of Galata became resplendent with light; then
the greater part of the Golden Horn and the bivouacs
extending away in long lines to the Sea of Marmora
blazed with innumerable lamps and torches. The be-
sieged mounted the walls to behold the amazing
spectacle, and half surrounded by seas of fire, believed
at first that a terrific conflagration was sweeping away
<20 COl:lIA NIA.

the Cl\ml)S nnd fleets of the Ottomans. But the chants


and dances of the dcn,jshcs, and the wi ld Moalem
shouts of Alla/"'·illaJIrAUah passing from squadron to
squadron and echoing from hill to hill, soon announ-
ced to tJICm that the Moslems were celebrating their
victory in advance. Then despair settled upon the
Greeks. They ran wildly in the streets and thronged
tho churches. Gloom and confusion and darkneee
reigned everywhere, and above the lamentations and
prayers of tJl(~ l)cople swelled the kyrie eleiaon, min-
gling its solemn strains with the Bnechic frenzy of the
Turks.
But at the dawn of day came
"The lIOund
All of tho __ nit of an imperial cily,
The hies of inexr.inguishable fire,
Tho roor of giant cannon, !.he eerthquaking
Fall of bMtions and procipito09 (Owc""
The shock of eraga shot from strong<! engin'ry,
Tho cla~h of wbool.!, and clang of armed hoof!!,
Aud craBb of Drnzetl mail, U of tho wreck
or adam::mliuo mountaillll, the mad blast
or trumpets, and the neigh of ragiog 8teeW!,
And 8hrieke of WOIll(!n, wil()6(l thrill jlllll the blood,
And olle SWett laugh m06t horrible to bear,
As of Il joyOU$ iurant waked and playillg
With illl dead mother's breMt; and now moro loud i
Tbe mingled battle cry-lul! hear I uot,
'lJ'} '/1," Cb"'JlUl" f'_A lklh-iIlaJ,_AUM I' "
Whil ~ the chiefs nnd the soldiers were dying upon the
TilE WALL S Oi' OONSTANTI NOf'I.F.. 421

walls, the populace awaited in the ehm'elles the fulfil-


ment of a predictioll, which, in their weakness, they
had readily accepted, It was declared, upon the faith
of an ancient prophecy, that the Turks should enter
Constantinople, and advance as far as the column of
Constantine: but at Olat moment an angel, descended
from heaven, would l)laee a sword and sceptre in the •
hands of a chosen ki ng, and command him to avenge
the lleople of God, Then, it was assured, the Turks
would take flight, and be pursued by the conqnering
Greeks evell to the confines of the Ottoman empire.
But no a vell~ing angel appeared, and the s uperstitious
multitude wel'C awaked from their flattering delusion
by the shouts of the victors, the nearer tramp of the
Tartur cavalry, and the clash of battle-axes on tile doors
of their sacred temples.
The walls of Constantinople remain in nearly the
same condition that they were in after tile siege of Con-
stantinople, more than four hundred years ago. But
little has been taken away and uothing added save the
i vy and the verdure. The indolent Turks have not
entirely closed the breach through which a great part
of Mohammed's army entered the city, and behind
which the last of the Constalltines fell, covered with
wounds and with glory. This is the strongest portion
of the wall, and yet such was the disparity between the
Greeks and Turks, that I wonder the latter did nol
IOOner burst t.hrough the fortification. Neal' by,on the
422 ROU~IANIA.

most ele vated ground inside the walls of Stamboul, is


the ruin of the palace of Relisarins, the residence of
the last Emperor; and the old palace is likewise an
inextricable labyrinth of ruins.
From the former of these, Constantine, after he had
striven in vain to save a people who would not save
• themselves, and lost everything bnt honor, went forth
to die, though not without lingering for a time in the
soli tary halls of his ancestors. And the Conqueror
who had j ust stamp ed his ensanguined hand upon a
marble pillar of St. Sophia, touched with momentary
pity in the deserted home of the Cresars, repeated a
verse of the P ersia n lloet, "The spider's web is the
royal curtain in thc palace of the Emperor, and the owl
is the sentinel on the watch tower of Afrasiab." Time
avengeth the wrongs of suffering nations ; and the
traveller may, ere long, repeat the same appropriate
words in the blood-stained halls of the sons of Orehan.
About midway from the Seven Towers to the Golden
Horn, the road deviates from the wall and leads to the
church of Balukli, a place much frequented by the
Greeks. H ere no Turks arc to be seen, tIle women m·e
ull veiled, and there is often a hurrying to-and-fro of
eager groups. The convent-like church is surrounded
by a gloomy walL In t.he immediate vicinity is a
Greek cemetery, which, from the absence of trees, and
the careless mannor in which the monnmcnta arc ar-
ranged, is lly no means so intcl'esting as the bnrinl-
TIm W.\T.I.S 0 1.' eONSTANTlNOPLF.. 423

places of the Turks. Several of the Greek patriarchs


have been bul'ied in the court-yard of the church. The
Greek emperors were wont to repair to Balnkli in great
pomp on Ascension-day, and here also important mar-
riages were formerly celebrated.
Our dragoman conducted us down several steps to
the body of the cdifice, whicll is cleaner and p rettier
than the generality of Greek churches. A few priests
were celebrating mass in t heir usual monotonous man-
ner, and with the nasal twang peculiar to Eastcrn wor-
ship. "TIw8 pari, dfendis' (will you sec the fishes,
gentlemen ~)" says one of them, and h e leads us down
to the fountain of Nicetas, the heali ng virtues of whosc
cool and refreshing waters were sung by Nicel)honls,
and extolled by PhilliS in Greek iambics_ The fountain
is of crystal clearness, and in it arc swimming a few
streaked fishes roasted, as the legend tells us, on olle side.
A monk sat hero frying fishes, ~'hen Mohammed
entered the city_ As some onc announced to him the
triumph of the Turks, he exclaimed : " ,Vhat! I sllaH
believe you when I sec these fishes come to 1ife and
leal) from the pan in wh ich I am cooking them." And
forthwith, to the amazement of the incredulous cenobite,
they leaped from the frying-pan into the fonntain before
ns. The church b uilt to commemorate this miracle was
destroyed at the break ing out of the Greek revolution,
when it is declared that the fishes werc ngai n miracu-
IOllsly preserved.
424 HOUlI ANlA.

Descending to the Golden Hom we rench Eyoub,


one of the fi fteen au burbs of Constantinople. It is •
delicious sylvan retreat, where no Christian is allo,vcd
to reside, and whose holy mosque, bu ilt by :::Mohammed
II., no Christian is permitted to cn ter. The Moslem
temple is an airy and elegant structure of white mar-
ble, ill which the Turkish Sultans are inaugu rated.
When the ncw P adislIa has girded on the sword of
Osman, the illustrious founder of the Ottoman dynasty,
turning to one of' his ministers, he exc1aima: "Keyzyl-
dmaiJa, giorus cheleml" (May we see ca.eh other in
R ome 1) Though now a mere formality, this ceremony
shows how the haughty sultans once meditated sup-
planting the tiara by the turban. I t carries our thoughts
back to the time when the t..'\king of Otranto in Apulia
by Achmet Geduk P acha, caused as much teM'Or in
Rome.as the appearance of Attila on tlle Mincio-when
there was trembling in the Vatican, and the P apal
power almost determined again to remove its seat to
Avignon.
Times change. We have seen Ole throne of the
OsmanJis, before which the representatives of great
kings once bowed the neck and held the voice subdued,
threatened to be submerged by the retllming waves of
invasion j and the hand which fo rmerly issued the bul-
letins of victorious armies and the recitals of conqucst,
stretched forth supplicatingly to the powers whose sub-
j ects were a few years ago termed ([<JU8 of infol8·
TilE W.\LLS UF CONSTAXTlNOI'LJ::. 425

h Lct him that gives aid to the Tm'ks ue excommu-


lIicated," stallds writtell in the eanOIiS of Rome. But
in the late war the Gallic defender of the Cl.ltholic faith
became the firm ally of the Sultan. The kyrie ekisM
and AUallrillalt-Allalt rose together, while t.he followers
of ClI1!lST and the followers of Mohammed went into
combat shoulder to shoulder, bearing side by side the
crescent and the cross. Yet in this crusade of Louis
Napoleon, the Occident and the Orient have been
brought together on a magnificent scale. 'fllUS are
made acquainted mon who havc hitherto met only Oil
fields of carnage, and seen each other only through the
smoke of battles. Thus also is made to fall the ancient
cnmity of raccs.
The mosque derives its name from Eyoub, the
standard-bearer and companion-in-arms of Mohammed,
who was killed at the siege of Constantinople by the
Saracens, 668 A.D., and buried here. The spot having
been revealed to Mohammed II. in a visioll, he erected a
mosque and mausoleum in honor of Eyoub.
There are many other mausolea of persons distin-
guished in the annals of Islam under tJlCse dark cy-
presses. The most remarkable tombs are those of old
Hussein Paella and the Sultana Valide, the glorious
mother of Selim III.
I noticed many gilded monuments exhibiting great
taste, and do not think there can be a sweeter rCEting-
place for the dead dIan quiet, bcautiful EyQub.
426 RUUllANI.A .

Slight elevations of mason-work or stones chiselled


at the top to the shape of turbans, mark the graves of
the faithful, the size and the inscriptions also sometimes
indicating their character and l)rofession. A flower or
some simple device is inscribed in the case of females.
The Moslems press tlle earth with no ponderous marble
slabs, in order tbat on tbe day of judgment the bodies
of the dead may spring up without impediment. They
scrupulously avoid burying two persons ill the same
place, llnd have the beautiful custom of planting a cy-
press over the grave of a relative or friend, circumstances
which account for the size of Turkish cemeteries and
their beiog converted into the parks and pleasure-
grounds of Ottoman cities. The Mussulmans bury their
dead upon the day of their death, and hurry them to
the tomb, for the l~rophet says: "If the departed one
be blessed, hasten with him to the place of destination:
is he accursed, get rid of him as soon as possible." The
nearest relatives assist in supporting the bier. For that
pious ofrice the Koran promises a great blessing, and
the only time that a Turk movcs swiftly is when he
is carrying a brothcr to the grave. They run out and
assist each other, believing that the body of the de-
parted is uneasy uotil consigoed to the dust whence
it sprung. Th e Im aum or priest interrogates the dead
upon the articles of faith contained in the Koran, and
the silence of thc latter is ingeniously construed into
uflirmative answers. A few handfuls of earth are
TilE WALLS OF CUNSTANTlNOI'LE. 127

thrown into the grave, the assistants respond amen, and


the soul is left alone with eternity. Instead of a coffin
they employ two planks so placed as to leave an open
space where, as they say, the examining angels can sit
down and converse with the departed. For a like
reason the shroud is seamless, and lett open at both
ends. A stone is placed at the head of th e corpse fOI'
the convenience of the two angcls, under the suppo-
sition that this act of civility will make them more
indulgent.
'When the angels visit the sepulchre in order to in-
stitute an examination, the soul of the defunct is sup-
posed to return for a time to the body. One of them
raises the dead to a sitting posture by the queue of
hair, which every true Mussulman allows to grow for
that purpose. This preliminary examination consists
of four questions relating to the cardinal points of
religion and the direction in which the dead has said
his prayers. For several days in succession after the
funeral the relatives and friends of the deceased
repair to his grave to pray, beseeching God to deliver
him from the tonnents inflicted by the black angel in
case the examination be not satisfactory. They en-
courage him earnestly by name to "fear not, but answer
bravely." On the Friday foll owing the interment,
refreshments of various kinds are carried toO the grave,
of which the passers-by may p artake freely. The soula
of the thithful are thought t.o linger around the tombs
428 ROUYU I A.

in blissful beatitude, not unmindful of the attentions of


their surviving friends.
This mode of sepulture is not without good in a
coun try where the plague is common and premature
burials occasionally take l)lacc. It sometimes happens
that persons buricd i n this clumsy manner r ecover, and
are able to force the barrier separating them from the
outwat-d world. I t is related that a Turkish blacksmith,
who had been b uried in the morning, returned home
during the day, enveloped in his sh roud. Being some-
what taciturn, he directed his footstel)s at once to his
sholl, to the great terror of his assistants, and without
saying a word to anyone resumed the work of the p re-
vious day.
"Such a delightful bathing-place as Eyoub," writes
a Turkish traveller, "is nowhere else to be found."
"Every Friday many people erowd to this place, where
those who like, bathe in the water. llere lovel'S and
the beloved mingle t ogether without restrai nt, and take
delight swimming in the sea. You fan cy. that you
Lehold the angels of the sea bathing amongst the
angels of mankind d ressed in blne aprons.
"Ncar by is an old well that goes by the name of
Y an K ayl/88i, the well of souls. If a person who luu:
lost anything pet'form here a prayer at t wo rika'at,
deNting the merit of it to Yllssnf and aski ng that
great prophet to describe what he )I" his rclati"es I llwc
done amiss, a "oice is heard frOif . tl l(~ bottom of th e
THE WALLS OF CONSTA."fTI NOPLE. 4-~9

well, describing the place where the lost thi ng or per-


son may be found. This well answers anything except.
about the five great secrets known only to God, as for
example, if any ooe should inquire, "Will the child
about to be born be a male or female j" the only reply
is "wait a little."
Almost directly opposite Eyoub, on the Golden
lIorn, arc Kassim Paella and the Old Bagnio. The
former contains the great naval depot and shipyard of
the Turks,
" - -with its never-ending C:ll'OO
Of tArring, pitching, and rcpairs."

Mussulmaos are not good seamen. The crews of their


tall ships arc not even proof against seasickness. They
tell the story of a Turkish commander who was directed
to visit Malta 011 important government business. After
beating about six months in the Mediterranean, he reo
turned aod reported to the Kapudan Pacha that he had
not been able to find the island.
Refreshing oursel ves with a cup of coftee at tIle
kiosk, whose foundations arc bathed by the limpid
waves of the Golden H orn, let us take a four-oared
ca'ique to visit the sweet waters of Europe. The pichI'
rcsque caidjifl handle their frail bnt elegant barks with
admirable address. Shooting up the little rivcr whieh
flows into the Golden Horn, we reach in a few minutes
one of the most frequented places nenr the Turkish
430 ROUMANrA.

capital. I t is ilL oasis in the desert wbich extends down


to the vcry walls of Stamboul, for if ODe ascends the
hills on either side, nothing meets the eye but a wide
desolate waste. This delightful retreat is named the
Sweet Waters by tllC Franks, and Heavenly Waters by
the Turks, but the crystal flood of the Cydaris is not fit
to dri nk. Here, where
" - i n shadiest covert bid
Tbe tutleful bird siugs darkliug,"

the Sultan has a summer palace, half·Occidental in


style and furniture, and Half-Oriental. Except the
harem, which we were not permitted to visit, and the
sumptuous marble baths, it would suffer in comparison
with J?any of the villas along the IIudson. An artifi-
cial water-fall is ncar, and on the green plots feed the
stately coursers of the Sultan.
On sUDny afternoons and balmy evenings Turkish
ladies do love to congregate on the sylvan banka of the
Cydaris. Then tho cool sherbet is drunk in the shady
kiosk, and the Ottoman lays off that dignity which he
wears in all other places, to become Ii. playful child.
Then and there only, upon European soil, do you fully
appreciate the life of the soft Asiatics. The Turk
loves Nature, from the fact that he is a stranger to Art,
and at the Sweet Waters of Europe he enjoys her bless-.
ings without restraint. Its solitude induces the far
niente- and the delieiollsfar nie1lte, is it not, 0 reader,
the secret of the Jife Oriental ?
TIrE WALLS OF CO:SSTANT INOf'LF.. 43]

The silvery laugh of sportive girls mingles with the


music of running waters, the rustli ng of leaves, and the
notes of the bulbul. Armenian maidens let fall the
veil in the eagerness of sport, and groups of dark-eyed
Greeks, as beaut iful as Thalia and Melpomene, dance
upon the greeu vell-et, to musie Orphean only in the
graceful movements it accompanies. Here the Circas-
sian forgets she is a slave, and the Nubian joins her
mistress in the merry laugh.
On one of the hills which overlook the promenade
of the Sweet Waters there is an immense :kiosk, un-
tenanted and uncared for. No one visits the fountains
in the lonely gardens. Rank weeds have grown up in
the shady walks, and lifeless trees show their squalid
branches in the midst of luxllI"ious vegetation. With
all this solitude and decay is connected a story of
spiritualized affection \"are among the Turks. Mah-
moud converted the kiosk into 1\ dwelling~l)lace for the
fH.voritc of the imperial harem. Here the Sultan was
wont to repair, to forget the chagrins of the sovereign
in the tendernesses of love. The beautiful Circassian
died. The bl"avc-hearted Sultan could find no solace
for his grief. He ordered that no hand should dese-
crate the asylum of his lost happiness. I n his saddest
hours he would often come here to weep alone. Abdul
Medjid, when he ascended the throne, respected his
fathet's wish, and no one now approaches the solitary
pavilion, still wearing the emblems of mourning.
432

The shades of evening gather ar01md us. As we


glide down the Cydaris and the Golden H orn, the full-
orbed moon rises from beh ind the Bithynian Olympus,
and bathes in liqu.id etherial light the mosques and
towers of the seven-hilled City. Calques filled with
grave Osmanlis and their silken-eyelashed treasures fl it
by us on the Golden IIom , whose depths a re no longer
vexed by a thousand moving keels. The d impling and
silvery waves weave their cl·isped moonlit smiles around
the motionless hulls, and break against them with the
low murmur of the sea. In ou r fl ashing wake roll lip
myriads of emeralds and diamonds, rivalling in mo-
mentary splendor the orbs of night, trembling in the
heavens as if in fea r of God. A balmy influence seems
to descend fro m the turquoise sky, through an atmo-
sphere of opaline transparency. My sensations and
perceptions become exquisite beyond descrip ti on~ and
the current of my thoughts flows into dreamy imagina-
tions. The very pulses of my being throb with a new
and delicious life-a life known only in the sunny
Orient.
CHAPTER XVII.

AS'A.

.. -tLe pla.oo of a tl>OUMll(!. tombe


That sbiDl~ OOU(!Il.lh, whilo dark abo't"e
Tho BOd, hut living cypros'l g looms,
ADd withol'!! not, though h ranCh lUId l(!Il.f
Aro st:J.mped wilh lin etcm(Ll grief,
Like early unrequited love."

"Tho tinkling hell!! already do I hear,


Proclaim the caravao'e dep:lnUl'O ne:u'.ft

TJIEItE arc certain moments which we set down as the


most important of our lives, to which ollr thoughts have
previously converged, RlId from which, as a shining
ccntre, diverge our brightcst experiences. That was
one of my "life momenta," whcn hav ing taken a caUjuc
at Galata and glided. past the point of tlle Sel'llglio, I
stood, in a few moments, on the soil of Aaia. I seemed
transportcd at once a thollSILnd miles further into that
indefinite Orient. :My thoughts lcaped across centu-
rics_ I conjured up before me the shadows of ancient
empires, and on a soil consecrated by prophets and
19
43< R OUlIA..'UA.

patriarchs, felt myself surrounded by the mystcriea


that envelop the orig in of the human race.
Scutari, celebrated for its cemeteries and vineyards,
is the largest 8ublll"b of Constantinople, and, like her,
reposes upon seven hills. I t was b uilt in the earliest
times of the great P ersian monarcliy, and doubtless
owed its ancient name, Chl'ysopoJis, the golden city, to
the CirCUIllstance that the P ersian tribute was {here
collected.
N etlr Scutari is the old Chulccdon, now Kadi.kclli,
founded seven years before Byzance. A few ruins arc
still to be seen, but n o ono would j udge from them that
he stood upon a spot rendered famOllS by the oracles of
the gods and the councils of men. 'When the Megarians
inquired of the oracle CC7 B.C., where they should fou nd
the n ew city of Byzantium, the answer was, " Opposite
the Blind," all uding to the stupidity of the Chalcedonians
in not hav ing selected a point on the Golde n H orn for
the site of their town. Yet a p erson could travel over
the en tire glob e and find but one situation more favor-
able for a city than that of Chalcedoll.
Scutal'i is t he great rendcz \'Oua for the caravans
trading bet ween Constanti nople and the Asiatic cities ;
and from this poi nt sct out annually thousanos of devout
Moslems on t he weary p ilgrimage to Mecca. IIere, fo r
the firs t ti me, I saw the camel on its native soil of Asia.
F rom the encampmen ts in th e outskirts of Scutari, where
their drivers lillger only for a. few days as if fearful of
I•
I

•I
ASIA. 435

contact with civilized life, these patient creatures guze


with long wondering looks from beneath their drowsy
lids upon the hills of Europe, to them" a fubled and
forbidden Iand.'~
1110 cemeteries of Peru and Scutari are the Hyde
Park and Champs·Elysces of imperial StambouL Cool
and shady retreats arc they; and Oil sunny afternoons,
particularly duriug the Moslem festivals, when a greater
degree of liberty is enjoyed by the female sex, groups
of veiled women may be seen seated on the grass or the
fallen monuments, sportive and merry even in the pre·
scnce of the black eunuchs who act as their attending
genii. But a few feet distant, perhaps, a lonely bcing
is planting flowers in the tear-moistened earth,-fiowers
WI sweet as those which Rousseau l)laced in the chamber
of his dying Heloise. W oman is ever kind, ever devo-
tional j and where the stoical Mussulman thinks it
unmanly to shed a tear, the Circassian, bought with his

gold, finds no other solace for her grief.
These vast cemeteries are exceedingly u nhealthy as

places of public resort on account of the noxious Cx1IU-
lations from the soil. The Ottoman, thanks to his belief
in fatality, is molested by no considerations of that kind ;
he spends many of bis days in pursuit of pleasure upon
the very spot where he expects his body will return to
its native dust. By night even paper lanterns flit" like
igneafatui, among the marble monuments of the dead,
speaking with sileut,voiees and wet with dewy tears.
436 ROtmAN JA.

Could the graveyards around Constantinople be cui·


tivated they would prodnce grain enough to feed its
immense population, while tJlC fallen and scattered
monuments would suffice to build a city. The Turks
never bury two bodies at the same place; and a slight
calculation will show what conntless multitudes sleep
along the bllle waves of the &Splloms. Byzantium
was founded morc than 2500 yenrs ago, and during
much of that time its population has been greater than
that of the present Constantinople. Suppose 500,000
people to han~ lived there twenty centuries. Let three
generations pass away in a hundred years, and we have
the dust of 30,000,000 human beings I Constantinople,
with its throbbing life of nearly a million scmb, is cmpty
and deserted compared with the silent ci ties of P era,
Scutari, and EYOllb, as all living, moving humanity is
but dust in the balance against the countless multitudes
wbo have lived and died before us! The whole earth
is a sepul chre.
The Turks reg:ml their sojounl in E urope as a tem-
porary encampment. They love the soil of Asia, which
belongs to Islam, whence sprung Illc founder of the
Ottoman dynasty, and prefer sepulture, however hnm·
blc, in Scutari, to a resting~plaee ever so henutiflll in
magnificent Per:l. or syh-an Eyonb.
Every hour of tile day dark proccs;;ions move acrose
the Bosphorus with muffled oar and mount tIle narrow
way lending up to the ehosen burial-plnce of lslam, fit ly
AS/'\. 4:37

tlnn1ed the " J~udJ.(!:1' of Denth." On this S})ot, crowded


with pcrcnnial cypl"ess alld memorial stone, we witness
in strange eont rast the indecent haste of 'l'mkish bu rials
and the dreamy pleasure-seeking of tJle Orientals, the
most touchi ng exh ibitions of sorrow and the liveliest
manifestations of joy, with littleness an d greatness,
poverty ana splendor, pollution and p uri ty, mingling
with the dnst aide by side!
The gloomy surroundings are emblematical of decay;
and where else can man and nature so sympathize with
each other? Yet by a singular contrast one's thoughts
often assume a l)oetical if not a romantic cast among
the dew-weeping monuments of the dead, and the
entanglements ofleafy mound-embosoming glades invite
to the sweeter entanglements of love_
At the head of eaeh grave is a little orifice-too often
enlarged by the dogs 0]" jackals-condncting to the ear
of the deceased, that he may be enabled to hear the
sighs aud lamentatiims of his relatives. By the foot of
the column also there is usually a flat stone hollowed in
the middle to fo rm a small basin , in which the friends
of the deceased place flowers and perflUues.
" A day comes, however, when the flowers fade, and
are not renewed ; for grief for the departed is not eter-
nal, and life were intolerable without forgetfulness_
Water from the elo nds replaces the rose-water, and the
birds of theaireome to drink the tears ofthe" IH~avensfrolU
the reservoir which once received the toars of affection.
438 ROU~U:SIA.

The doves dip their wings in these baths of marble,


drying themselves in the sun while they coo from the
summit of the superincumbent monument; and the
dend, deceived, might snppose he heard a sigh of faith-
ful sorrow. Nothing could be prettier or more graceful
than this winged life, hMCl"ing and singing among the
tombs."*
After a IOllg ramble on the Asiatic shore, Demetrius
conducted me to the Tike of the H owling Dervishes.
Their convent stands on the slope of the great hill of
Scuhlri, not far from tllC Bosphorus, and is reached by
a road leading through the cemetery. The Teke, where
the Dervishes arc supported in part by the Sultan and
in part by " their indecorous humbug," is in every re-
spect more humble than the convent of the Whirling
Dervishes on the European side of the BosphoTUs.
With singular emotions, however, docs one approach it
through that dark wilderness of eypresses in whose lugu-
brious shade the myriads of fUlleral columns seem like
whited ghosts-

"In atony fetters, fixed and llIotionl-."

A Nubian slave, after having served the company


with coffee and pipes in tllC courtyard of the convent,
led us up a stairwa.y and along obscure corridors to a
low gallery, whence Frank travellers are permitted to

to T . GIOUt.itr.
ASIA. 439

witness the spectacle, whi le a crowd of TlIrks occupied


part of the fl oor below. A second gallery was set apart
for females. The la rge, square room had morc the ap-
pearance of a cabinet of curious old weapons and musical
instruments than of' 11 place of worship. The walls were
hung with poniards, lances, and other rude ini plements
of warfilre. Triangles, drums, ilnd tamborin es were
intermingled with pikes ilnd yiltilghilns, the fo rmer of
..vhich arc employed in every weekly performance to
excite the enthusiasm of the actors, while the latter arc
not unfrequcntly taken down in the bloody melees on
the great days of the Ramazan, when the fa natic exalta-
tion k nows no bounds.
And now the performers appear on the stage.
Some twenty men gravely enter and kneel on sheep-
skins with their faces toward Mecca. Alternately
incl ining, rising, and p rostrating themselves, they
address their preliminary invocation to heaven with all
the sancti monions zeal of Mussulmans. The majority
of them wear the long pelisse and grey conical hat, the
distinctive dress of Derviehee. Some, however, bave
the old Turkish costume,-the turban, caftan , and
bobouche- and even two or three of the younger per-
formers are attired in the closely fi tting tunics of French
civilization. The latter are not Dervishes, but persons
expiating some offence that weighs heavily upon their
consciences by participating, for a time, in the penible,
devotional exercises of these e~stern fanatics.
440 ROUnANIA,

After the preliminary invocation, which is mental


rather than oral, tJlrce of the dervishes chant a kind of
litany, with a na...o:al twang that would do credit to a
Jewish synagogue. The asslstUllts respond "amen,"
and then begin the peculiar ceremonies of the order.
The sheepskins are thrown into a pile against the balm!-
trade, and the Schcik of the Teld, a venerable lIUSSlll·
man, seats himself upon them. The others, ooming
forward onc by one, kiss his hand and range them-
selves in a semicircle before him. Two musicians com-
mence a monotonous recital f,'om the Borda" in praise
of the Prophet, accompanied by slow and regularstrokcs
upon a t.amborinc. The Dervishes slowly incline their
bodies forward and backward, with a slight lateral
motion, murmuring at the same time in a low tone of
voice. This oscillatory movement gradually increasing,
becomes animated, precipitous, violent. The savage
actors are seized with a wild frenzy. From statuesque
figures they speedily couvert themselves into frightful
mountebanks.
Simultaneously with these movements they begin to
pronounce slowly the profession of faith, "La illah illa"
lah," di,·ided into six syllables, each of which is made
to correspond with a single inclination of the body.
Their motions qn.icken; their pronunciation becomes
more rapid; and as the orgies increase in violence, we
distinguish only tile wild cry of "il-lalt," and finally
the single sound "lalt /" hmled fOl"lh at the 'top of the
ASIA .

voice, and interrupted now and then by an outcry or


" ltt~ /"
The breasts of the actors in their hideous panto-
mimes heave like the breast of a wounded l ion, Thei r
lips foam and vibrate inccsslIlltly with the feroc ions
metallic notes of "La huf" Their faces arc inundated
with perspiration. They beat theil' humid chests lind
• shoulders with the long locks of hair allowed thus to
grow in imitation of the Prophet. Their bodies become
distorted by frightful muscular tension, and the blood-
8110t eyes seem ready to leap from their sock ets.
Now the Scheik takes part in the orgies, and soon
surpasses all the others in the violence of his con tor-
tiOIlS. Fonncrly the R ufa'i of' Scntari, for that is the
name of this sect of dervishes, used to take red hot iron
in their mouths, and carry balls of fire in their hnnds,
without any indications of pain or injury. These fents,
howe\Ter, have been discontinued, in the neighborhood
of Constantinople, though they nrc still exhibited in
other parts of the empire.
Meanwhile the fanaticism of the Dervishes JIIlS
reached its height. Vertigo attacks them. The gur-
gling sonnds grow confused j tho power of utterance is
nenrly lost.. Some are carried nway swooning, some
leap with violence and fall p rostrate on the floor, their
bodies convulsed, and foaming at the mouth; others
cry" Y a Hu/" (J ebovah!) and others still " Ya Ke-
dedI" (Oh Help!); while, as the exhausted voices be-
10*
442 !tOL'MANIA.

como scarcely audible, we hear once more the silvery


notes of the anthem in l)raisc of Mohammed, or of
Ahmed Rufal (the founder of the sect). "0 Mediator!"
"0 Physician of souls 1" "0 Beloved I" which now by
contrast seems soft and beautiful. The bodies fall upon
each other, and the little arella looks like a place of
combat.
Now follows what is still more grotesque-still more
horrible. Three y01Hlg children are led in , and long
pack-needl es thrust through their cheeks, passing into
one and out of the other. The Schcik, afwr engaging
in the Thcsmagorian dance of the Rufa'i, is bel ieved to
have the gift of healing by the imposition of his feet.
Half a dozen invalids make their appearance: they
prostrate themselves on the floor, face downward. Se-
veral mothers also come in and plllce their tender
infants in the same position, and the grave charlatan
steps upon each, not even omitting the cllildren sub-
mitted to this strange therapeutical treatment.
And yet-can you believe it, 0 reader ?-wifh the
exception of a few of the most fanatical, all this raving,
all this ecstasy of h oly inspiration, is a mere hoax, in·
tended to make fools of the spectators, an indecorous
humbug, k ept up to please the women behind the
screens, and especially the savage children of Asia, who
throng Constantinople, and take SUI)rcme dclight ill
these exh ibitions. '1110 T ekbJ supply the want of other
theatrical shows. For the Moslems the p erfonnaneC8
arc gratuitous, but it is customary with Frank t1·avellcrs
to make the pious actors a present of a few piastres, and,
. jf I am not g,·eatly mistaken, the jingling of filthy lucre
adds not a little eclat to these fine religious frenzies.
The Dervishes are the religious showmen of the
East.
Unlike the ecstasies and contortions of the Ru/a'i,
and yet savoring of mountebank tricks, nre the l)er-
formances of the Whirling Dervishes of Pem . The TeJd
of the latter, communicating with the street by a marble
portico inscribed with Icttel"S of gold, is a chaste and
beuutiful edifice-a sacred abode well fitted for religious
contemplation. The parterre is cooled by the jets of
perpetual fountains, and the long vestibules arc crowded
on the days ot" the ZiTS, or public ceremonies, with
troops ot" Turkish females. There noth ing is ascetic.
The 'liMU/" is introduced even into the most sacred
place. The Moslem female often lets fall her '!Ia81nak.
The humbng is decorous. The enthusiasm is subdued
and moderate. '111ere nrc no severe contortions, ex-
baustions, and foamings at tllC mouth. Sleek gentlemen
arc these Whi rling Dervishes. ' Ve feel that we arc in
the presence of the J esu its of Islam.
The liberal Mohammedans, and especially the wild
nomads of Asia, find something morc stirring and con-
genial in the Tckc of the Rufai", than in the som bre
mosques of Stamboul, or cvcn among the more sedate
Whirlers of Pera. Both of the Teku, however, furnish
444 ROt"MANIA.

:I.kindly, cntht1 einstic dC\'otion, "which the Ulemas


disdain, and to which the Tmaum cannot descend:"
hence their popularity.
The preliminary invocations, the chants and music
of the W hirling Den'ishes of Pera, do not differ greatly
from those of thei r more sa.vage brethren on this side
of the Bosphorus. The performers, however, are better
shaved and dressed, wearing conical hats, and long,
white gowns. Their speciality of worship consists in
whirling upon the naked feet so long, so regularly, so
rapidly, so harmoniously, that it is impossible not to
mistake them for whirligigs, or automatons, made to
rotate by some seel'ct mechanism. D uring this spiritual
pirouette, the expression of the whirlers is vacant: their
arms arc extended i n the form of a cross, the palm of
the right hand turned upward, and the left downward,
while the long loose shirts, confined at the waist, expand
so as to resemble n wheel. To look at these persons
revol ving tifty times per min nte gi\'es liS a sensation
of dizziness, and we wonder that they do not tall to the
floor. From long practice, however, they are perfectly
at home in the graceful twirl , but are careful not to
continue it to the point of producing cerebral conges-
tion. The pretended ecstasy induced by this solo \,aHz
docs not manifest itself upon the placid filces of the per-
formers.
1110 Whirling Dervishes arc of the order of Nulewi,
or Mystics, founded by tIle poet Mewlana, who is said
ASIA. 445

to have whirled minlellionsiy fonr days in snccession,


without food or refresJlment of any kind, his companion,
IIanS1l, plnying all the time on a flnte. Mewlana then
passed into an ecstatic state, saw visions, and received
\. from Allah wonderful revelations concerning the esta.·
Llishment of his order.
Islamism, though it has adopted the Dervishes, is
not accountable for their idolatrous practices. Idola-
trous they are, for, as the ecstatic waltz of the Mulewi
is symbolic of the hal1110ny of the spheres, and scarcely
difters fro m the dance learned by the ancient COI'y-
bantes from the wild tribes of A sia, the cries, the
perHoml leaps and bloody flagellations of the Rufai'
represent the forms of the p roscribed worship of I sis
and Cybele. The Indian Fakir was the prototype of
the Mussnlman Dervish. Derv ishism is, in reality,
older than the" sayi ngs and doings" of Mohammed,
and had its origin cast of :Mecca. It is t.he revival
of certain pagan rites and dogmas, and represents the
impression of the barbarOllS past upon the system of
Mohammed-the old Orilmtul polytheism lenguing
itself with the Unitarian doctrines of the "camel-d ri ver
of Mecca," just as Christianity has adopted mUlly
heathen usages. Mohammedanism, like Catholicism
and Calvi nism in mQre modern times, sought to restrict
its believers to a few narrow dogmas. lIenee arose the
different orders of Dervishes, g iving a more liberal in-
terpretation to the Koran, and rej ecting the idea that
446 nOUMAN IA .

it 01)on5 the only way to Paradise. Yat tncac numerous


orders, like the sects of Protestantism, represent not 80
much differences of belief in the fundamental points
of religion, as the devotional manifestations of certain
classes of minds.
"Let there be no monks in Islam," was a com-
mand of Mohammed. But such is the inclination of
the Arabs to ascetic life-a life that seems ill hannony
with the lonely solitude of the desert, that this injunc-
tion of the prophet was shortly supplanted by the de-
claration of the Koran," Elfakl'ufakhri" (Poverty is
my glory). Hence arose the class of ascetics called
Dervishes, from a P ersian word signifying door-ushers,
corresponding to the Fakirs of India, a class leading a
life of penance and mortification. They professed an
exclusive devotion to the service of Alla.h and total
absorption in his contemplation, and having no time
to devote t? other pursuits, were consequendy depend·
ent on the alms of the charitable. The Caliphs Abu·
Bekr and Ali were founders of the first two orders.
One of them prof~ssed to derive miracnlou8 power
from meditating upon the perfections of Allah; the
other from pronollncing his name a thousand and one
times in quick succession. Thus the former declare
that when Mohammed, during the Hegira, took refuge
in a cave to escape from his enemies, hc was preservcd,
not by the miraculQu8 spider-web, but by meditating
upon the goodness of Allah.
ASIA. 4-17

The Dervishes, wi Ihout exception, believe that e\'ery


man has two souls, one the Rnimnl, find the otLer the
mov:lble or wandering soul. They also nffinn that there
aro seven places in the human frume where prayer may
be habitually offered.*
The orders, orpail ls of Dervishes, as they arc tenned
by the Moslems, multiplied in proportion as the true
f:~ith declined, until, at the llresent time, they !lumbel'
more than thirty. The founders of tho different orders
left certain rules relative to the conduct of the melll-
bers, and the mode of worship to be followed. EReh
seet, also, has some peculiar distinction of dress. 1
have already alluded to the R ufaii and jj[ulewi.
The &d'!J8 arc held in h igh rcpute for their wondel"
working power. TIley handle se'1)enls and scorpions
with impunity, find even cat them, as if their fou nder
had served an 11pprenticcship with the serpent-charmers
of Eh'Ypt.
TIle B evtaschi are likewise worthy of notice. 'I'heir
founder, TIagdi-Begtasche, also orgnllized the corps
of the Janissaries. The B egta8chi and JnniSS.'lrics
regnrded each other as brothers, took the same part in
civil dissensions, and as distinct OrbJ'fillizations, llerisilCd
the same day. Thc B egt<uJclti arc, for the most part,
foreigners and ontensts, living ns mendicant devol.ees,
and" afl'ccting to pass for snntos, or-s.'lints, though , to
speak the tnllh, they arc loose souls, notorious hypo-
• J. P. Brown.
448 ROClIAXI.\.

crites, and, commonly! great drunkards," M08t of the


Dervishes, in fa ct, ind ulge in wine and brandy, in order
to give them the degree of gaiety required by their
faith. I well remember ono of the B egtaBchi, who
served as a kind of chaplain in a company of basM·
Oazouka along the Danube. He had followed tlle
rude warriors, with whom he was associated, from tbe
wilds of Central Asia. Wi th legs and feet bare, the
skin of a wild beast thrown over his shouldel'l, and
n rude battlc-axe in his hand, he sang verses in praise
of the soldiers, as they marched, and offered up prayers
for the glory of Islam and the prosperity of the empire.
The Sadys and B egtaacM arc the most expert sorce-
rers and jugglers among the :MosIem~ commanding, by
their pious tricks, the veneration and the pockets of
the populace. Their services arc in special demand ror
the interpretation of dreams, the recovery of lost and
stolen goods, tho enre of barrenness, the arresting or the
evil eye, and untying the marriage knot j for which
])urposes they employ prayers, inSllfHations, channs,
and exorcisms. I have no doubt t1Ult the Dcrvishee aro
llractically acquainted with Mesmerism, and tIle dcvices
of modern spiritualism.
The Sheiks, or chiefs of the Dervishes, must be
chosen from among the members of the particular
orders which they represent, and afterwards be con-
firmed by the graud mufti at Constantinople. To them
arc ascribed mira.cle-working powers. A Turkish
,\SIA . 449

bookseller, wishing to sell a "Life of the Turkish Saints,"


recommended it as follows : " H ere is a fllll accouut of
a Sheik at Konyah, who, whenever he wished to take a
sai l, had only to seat himself upou a cabbage leaf, over
which he had blown, and it would convey him across
the water in any direction he desired."
All of the D ervisllCS are allowed to marry , but with
the exception of 'a single sect, who pern'Lit n o married
person to enler th eir Tekes, must spend the night p re-
ceding their :!irs in a COil vent. TIley all suffer the
beard to grow, and mallY allow the hair to full over the
shoulders. Members are initiated by whispering in
their cars certain mystical words at stated intervals.
W ith the .JIulewi the novitiate p erfects his spiritual
train ing by serving a thousand and one days in the
con vent kitchen. The Dervishes carry rosaries of 33,
66, 0 1' 99 beads, and are required, in almost aU the
orders, to repeat several times daily tlle seven secret
words, or names of Allah, pertaining to the seven
heavens, seven earths, seven seas, seven plants, seveu
tones, seven colors, and seven metals_ TIle most zcal·
ous undergo the se\'erest vol untary l)enances, rivall ing,
cSI)ecially Oil the seven holy llights, th e self-mortify ing'
devotions of the IIindoo Iogis.
Notwithstanding many of these Turkish saints prac-
tise enormities which, in other COtlll ~ries, would bring
them to the gallows, they cxercise a powerflll infl uence
in an the lands of Isla m. Nearly all of t he Tu rk ish
450 WH;.loI.\NIA"

poets have beell Dcn"ishcs. They personify a popular


element. Dervishes have not ullfrequeotly excited
mobs and rebellions against the government. Their
vagaries and frenzies appeal to that respect for asceti-
cism which is strong in the Orient and" far older th~n
Christianity or Mohammedanism," and, though absurd
in the extreme, are too powerful to be dispensed witl!.
H ence the power of the D ervishes over the superstitious
populace j hence also the Sultan builds convents for
them, and occasiona.1iy goes in person to witness their
grotesque orgies.
Leaving thc Teke of the ITowling Dervishes, we pro-
cured horses to ascend the mountain of Bulgurlu, whose
Sllmmit affords the finest view to be obtained on either
bank of the Bosphorus. 'V1lile passing up the prin-
cipal street of Scutari, I was amused to see an Italian
travellcr giving his wife evidently her first lesson in
riding on horseback after the manner of men, as is cus-
tomary with Turkish ladies. It seemed very awkward
business for both, and the lady could not bnt bluah at
her unnatural position. Let those of' my fair rettders
who meditate a trip to the Orient forget not to carry
with them a side-saddle, unless they sce fit to adopt the
l'l.lrkish trowsers, and become oriented entirely.
The street led us by the mosque of the Sultana
Val ide and tbe great hospital of Scntari. The fonner,
like the imperial mosques of Stamboul, enjoys the pri·
vilege of being illuminated on the grC"at nights of the
ASL\, 451

Thunazan. The hlttor WRS (,l'Ccted by the Sultan Mah-


moud, to serve as barracks for ten thousand troops,
which number it easi ly accommodates. A few Russian
prisoners confined within showed their shaggy heads at
the barred windows, and did not appear to be dissatis-
fied with their fate. There, as in the Crimea, the
presence of that ministering angel, Florence Nightin-
go.lle, assu red the languishing sufferer that the still voice
of humanity was not nltogether hushed by the rude
tumults of war. She has her reward. Her simple
name is dearer to tIle British soldier than the whole
list of England's nristocrtlcy, blazing with 'Wealth and
titled glory, bnt selfish at heart, too l)roud to stoop
even to save tllOir common conntry, and too weak and
incompetent to maintain the position afforded them by
their rank.
Pleasantcottagcs were scattered here and there along
the way. \Ve often l)Unsed in the shade of th e lime-
groves to breathe the sweet fresh air of Bulgurln, and
enjoy opening and changing vistas of incomparable
beaut,y. Over the spring of Djambya, on tIle slope of
the mountain, the Sultan Mohammed IV. erected a
pretty dome. This spot, more than any oth er on Bul-
gurln, is frequented by Turkish and P erote ladies. The
water of the founta.in, styled" heavenly" by the Turks,
is the purest to be found in the vicinity of Stamboul.
A number of pers(lns were sealing the crystal fluid in
bottles for the use )f the sultan .
452

The VICW from the summit of the mountain, near


where l'iberi us and Mauriti us built th eir hnnting pa-
laces, is grand beyond description. At the right is the
sullen Euxine with its dark o" erhanging cliffs and crags,
while far below us ru ns the" sapphire thread " of tllC
Bosphorns, 011 who:>c enchanted wave-was1wd margi n
are ciustel'cd smiling ,'mages that gleam like pearls !let
in green and sih'cr, There, embraced by the sen and
the Golden liorn, reposes queenly Stamboul, garlanded
by her daughter cities; and as the eye sweeps along
the eastern shore of the Marmora, it rests, in the azure
dist ance, upon tJle stately Olympus of BitliYIlja, a mag
nificcnt background to a magnificent p icture. Where
else with a single coup d'OJil, can you look upon so
much that is beautiful and historical ?
At the base of :Mount Olympus lies Broussa, " the
ancient capital of Bithynia, the retreat of H annibal,
and the cradle of the Ottoman empire," B rouSiIa has
declined from its glol'y in the fourteenth century, b ut
the pastoral tribes which dwell upon the neighboring
mountains do not differ greatly f l'Olll the m de bands of
Erlhogl'ul, that migmted there fi"e centuries ago th llll
tbe !:ihol'es of the Caspian,
At Brouasa was buried 13ajazct: the iiJ-st of the
Ottoman chiefs who styled himself Sultan, Tnmerlanc,
issui ng f,'om the lands ofIran with t wenty-seyen kill!,J"S fit
his sU nup, according to the account of un ol d Turkish
wl'itc l',demantied s!! bHli ~s io!! of ]1'~iazet. "The latter',

ASIA. 453

with the spirit nn 1 courage of an emperor, refused to


comply~ Tamcrlane thereu pon advanced with an im-
mense nrmy, comprised chiefly of Tartar hordes. Baja-
zet's horse feB in battle, and the Sultan b imself, not
being able to rise before the enemy were upon him, was
taken prisoner and carried i nto the presence of the
A siatic conqneror. Tamerlane rose when the Sultan
was brougM in, and treated him with great respect.
Then they sa~ down together on the same carpet to
cat honey and clotted cream.
'" I thank God,' said Tamcrlanc, ' for h aving deli-
vered thee into my h and, and enabled me to eat mHl
disconrse with thee. But if I had fallen into thy power
what wouldst thou have done with me~' Bajazct, from
the openness of Ilis h eart, came to tJ}C poi nt at once.
" By heaven, if thou IHldst fallen into my hands I WOll ld
have shut thee up in an iron cage and never taken thcc
out of it to the day of thy death !'
'" W h at thou Iikcst in thy heart, I like in mine,' reo
pliedTamerlane,and ordering an iron cage to be brought,
forthwith incarcerated Bajazet aceording to the wish he
had himself expressed. The Emperor died soon after,
and Tamerlane ret urned to Ccntral A sia."
'Vhcther Baj azet was imprisoncd in this manner has
long been a controverted point with historians. There
is, however, but little doubt of its actual occnrrence,
for, as Sir William J ones bea l tifnlly remarks : " W hile
the abstract sciences are all truth and the fin e arts all

454 ROUMANU.

fiction, we cannot but own that iu the details of history


truth and fiction are so blended as to be scarcely distin-
guishable."
Hannibal spent the last years of his life in exile at
Broussa, and ultimately died there, a victim to the in-
gratitude of his country. W hen the Romans sent an
ambassador to Prnsius to demand Hannibal, the king
had the baseness to abandon the illustrious African.
He took poison, saying-
"Let us deli ver the Romans from the fear of an old
man, exiled, disarmed, and betrayed J"
Scipio, like IIannibal, was thought unworthy to die
in the land he had honored. After wandering through
many countries as strangers, they arc said to have met
in Asia, and conversed familiarly about their conquests
and defeats.
Scipio inquired-
" In yom' opi nion, Hannibal, who has been the great-
est general in the wodd 1"
" Alexander," resl)onded the Carthagenian.
" And the second~)) continued Scipio.
" Pyrrhus."
" And the thi rd ~"
" Myself."
" Thcn how would it havc been had you conquered
me f' demanded Scipio, laughi ng.
"I would IHlve placed myself befure Alexander."
TIlC sun had almost touched the distant mountains
AS IA. 455

of Thraec when wo descendl..'<l from Bulgurlu to the


Sweet 'Vaters of Asin. There is no place more beauti-
fu l than this on the green margins of the Bosphorns.
A few splendid Turkish villas were being slowly built
in the vicinity. As Neale remarks, workmen of every
nation and religion must of necessity be employed, and
as their sabbaths and holidays fallon different days of
the week, all the difiiculties arc encountered that were
experienced at the tower of Babel. The Turkish car-
penters are absent on Fridays, the Jewish laborers on
Saturdays, nnd the Annenian masons on Sundays. The
Greek plasterer has a holiday on Monday, and the
Catholic whitewasher one on Tuesday, so that months
arc consumed ill erecting an ordinary dwelling.
GOI·geolls old forest trees, pure sweet air, a crystal
brook singing through sylvan retreats as romantic as
Vallambrosa-thesc arc the lovely attractions of the
Sweet Waters of Asia. Here, especially on fete days,
assemble the wealth and beauty of Stamboul. "Happy
Turks!" wrote Lamartine, "a1 ways reposing in the
place of their predilQction, in the shade of the tree they
have loved, on the banks of the stream by whose mur-
murs they have been charmed, visited by the doves
whieh they cherish, and perfumed by the flowers they
have planted. If they do not possess the earth during
life, they possess it after death."
I behold my first sunset in Asia.
Yonder beneath the tufted foliugc rolls the Bospbo-
456 r:OG)IA.."'IA.

rns like n sih'cr-crcsted serpent of many folds. The


cvening breeze creeps softly and slowly up the valley,
wafting along the fragrant breathings of the flowers
nnd the parting songs of the birds. It is as if an
angel of light were hastening from the embrace 01'
the dewy earth, and she, closing her myriad eyes of
flowers, should smile, and blush, and weep at his royal
departure.
We take a sharp ca1que, and in a few moments are
floating near the old Seraglio. And now, as evenj ng
advances, the muczzin asccnds o~e of' the tapering
minarets of "Aya Sophia." Putting his bands to his
mouth, he chants three times, "There is hilt one God,
and Mobamm~ is his Prophet.. Come, ye faithful,
come to prayer." Reader, five times from sunrise
to sunrise, during four hundred .years, without tllC
omission of a single day, tl)at chant, so soft and musi-
cal, has floated over the city of Constantine.
-What changes since the Crescent supplanted the
Cross on yonder splendid dome! Islamism, with its
ancient glories trailing in the dust, has fallen upon
evil times, but tho faith of Mohammed still exists.
n ow perishable is man compared -with systems and
creeds! The old temples of the Caliphs have fallen
in ruins, the worshippers therein, and they who called
them to prayer, have mouldered into dust, and caravans
of weary pilgrims, thirsting for the hea,enly waters of
Paradise,
I•
I•
I
j
ASIA . ' 57
.. IJa\'o folded their tents liko tho A~

And Ill! ellontly p!L'!ISOd away. "

Even now, in the manner, but without the fervor of


earlier times, .!L fow devout l:[ussulmans bow upon tho
marble pavements of the mosques. Sweeter than tho
chime of vesper bel ls floats away the chant of the
muezzin on the still evening air. The turbaned sell-
tinels tako up tho sound, and ocho back its melody,
while a soft chorus ot' air-voices from the three hundred
mosques of Stamboul swells and sinks away , " Come,
ye faithful. Come to prayer."

" Night foil, lind dark nnd darker grew


Thllt nnrrow $0)<>, tl,nt nnrrow eky,
All o'er tho glc:uniug ,,-(wet! wo flow,
Tho !JCa-bird rustling, whi rling by_
Tho elitra Dnd promonloriClil thero
Joront to front, and broad and bo.roi
Elich beyond each, with b';:lllt foot
Advancing Il8 in haste to moot."
CHAPTER XVIII.

ISLAM •

... Verily the true \'(!jigion in the ~ight of God ill hlnm l"-K OItAIf.

"Scat thyself by tho side of the poor, IUld thou wilt augment the value
of thy bounty."- ALI.

ST. SOPlllA, the CatJICdral of old Constantinople, and


sumptuous monument of the new Greek a rchi tecture,
once dedicated to the Eternal W isdom (Soph ia) but
n ow the pride of Isltun, is the shin ing point of attraction
in Stamboul. Even the magnificent Cresccnt, gilded
with fifty thousand gold pieces, and mou nted upon the
<lome by the successor of the Caliphs, can be seen glit-
tering in the sunbcn.ms onc hundred miles at sea .

I have not space for a detailed descri ption of this
ancient Ohristian temple, which has existed in some
form or other for the last fi fteen hu ndred years. Its
foundations were laid in the twentieth year of the reign
of Constantine, the same year in wh ieh the Council of
Niec was opened. I t was bumt in the reign of A rea-
d illS, by the faction of St. J ohn Chrysostom , and rebuilt
eleven years after by Theodosills TI. It was burnt a
second time under Justinian, and restored by the same .
ISLAM. 450

Emperor, much cnlarged, und with infinitely greater


splendor. The dome has twiee falten in, the sacred
cross was thrown down by an earthquake in 1371, and
various other accidents have befallen" the l)ride of tile
city of Constantine."
The plan of the temple of D ivine W isdom is said
to have been laid down by an angel who appeared to
Justinian in a dream. All the temples of the old reli-
gions were made to con tribute to its construction. One
hundred chief architects, under Anthemius of Trallcs
and Isodorus of Milctns, directed the labors of the ten
thousand workmen employed upon the presen t edifice.
The temple of Divi ne Wisdom is supported upon the
columns of Isis and Osiris, or the pillars of the temples
of the Sun and Moon at lIeliopolis and Ephesus, of
those of Pallas at Athens, of P hrebus in Delos, and of
Cybele at Cyzicus. E very kind of granite. marble, and
porphyry was employed in its construction, as Phrygian,
Laconican, and Proconessiall.
While it remained a Christian temple, the sacred
vessels for the twelve great feasts of the year, made of
the purest gold, were almost innumerable. . Of choice
c1oth.ll, worked with pearls and jewels, there were fort.y-
two thousand. There were twenty-four colossal books
of the Evangelists, each of which, with its gold covering,
weighed more than two thousand pounds. Upon the
vine·fonned candelabras for the high ultar, for the gal-
le·ry for females, and the vestibule, were expended 600

460 ROUMANlA.

cwt. of the purest gold. The doors were of i \'ory, am·


ber, and cedar. Three of them werc said to be veneered
with planks taken from Noah's Ark. The fonn of the
holy font was that of the fountain of Samaria, and the
four trumpets blown above it by angels, were declared
to be those at whose blast the walls of J ericho were
overthrown. The floor was to have been paved with
plates of gold, but J ustinian, fearing that such au ex-
penditure would lead to its destruction by his successors,
substihlted onc of variegated marble whoso waving
lines imitated the advance of the sea. At the four
corners of the temple, built in the form of a Greek
cross, the apparently waving marble floor rolled OIl-
ward into the fonr vestibules, like tho four rivers of
Paradise. I; Glory to God, who hath deemed me worthy
to accomplish so great a work F' exclaimed Justinian.
"0 Solomon! I have surpassed thee."*
St. Sophia was converted into a Turkish Mosque the
very day on which Mohammed II. took possession of
Constantinople. He also built one of the fou r tall and
elegant minarets, which give 'inimitable grace and
beauty to a structure that WOllId appear massive yet
heavy without them.
To visit St. Sophia an imperial firman has bitherto
been requisite, bnt a fair examination can now be mado
on paying some twenty piastres at the entrance.

• VOll flammer.
ISLAM. ·jJil

H ow gold opens the heart :md Ilnloe:ks the


secrets of the East ! thought I as I erossed the
threshold, and stood upon ground sacred to Islam.
'Ve were required to take off our shoes, an indis.
peusable p reliminary to entering a mosque, both on
the ground of neatness and the sacredness of a
custom descended from tIte patriarchs. But at the
gate of St. SOI)hia I came near getting into a serious
difficulty. After we had paid the stipulated num-
ber of piastres, the keeper insultingly held ont his
hand for an additional gratuity. I thrust it back some-
what rudely, an act which would have eost me my life
twenty years ago. Tho guardian raised his ponderous
key, a foot in length, to strike me to t he earth, but as
Mussulmans arc not very nimble, I easily avoided the
blow. Expel'ienco had taught me how to deal with the
Turks, and giving him to understand tIlutIslam inspired
no dread, I entered tho Aya Sophia.
Never before 'did I so weU appreciate the real nature
and essenee of beauty as when standing beneath that
aerial pavilion of StOl10 reposing gracefully on its four
massive pillars, more marvellous in construction even
than the larger dome of St. Peter's. Its builders were
masters of living marble, for the treasures of the quarry
become beautiful only when they lose somewhat of their
material nature and asSllmc lighter and morc spiritu:lI
fonns. I cannot describe the gigantic proportions of
everything upon which the eye rests, nor traco the inti-
462 ROU)IANIA .

. nitude of galleries, columns, and architectllrul wonders


of this great Moslem Cathedral, still bearing the traces
of Christianity.
Cah'in and Luther would have retrenched nothing
from a Mussulman temple, destitute as it is of painting
and statuary, and the geometrical ornamentation of
lines, broken, crossed, and commingled. IIere dwell
nOlle of the mystic shadows and reveries peculiar to the
old Cathedrals of Europe. A tranquil river of pure and
serene light pOlil'S down through the five domes into the
body of the temple, and then floats away like an unolr
stnlctcu sea among the columns of porphyry that support
the long naves. The lines of marble pillars stand like
angels mute in prayer. Here arc neither pews, nor
altars, nor statues, nor tableaux, nor simulacra, nor
saintly relics. The iconoclastic genius of Islam for-
bids aU those embodiments of the theatr ical, the idol-
atrolls, and the scllSual, which in Greek and Catholic
churches materialjze the idea of God. A few mats
upon the marble pavement, a few mde candelabras and
ostrich eggs suspended from the ceiling, a few precepts
of Mohammed inscribed upon the walls and columns,
and a low triblme for the Sultan-these are the decora-
tion of S1.. Sophia. All ecstasy and enthusiasm are pro-
scribed. The thoughts of tIle wOI"Shipper are distracted
and menaeed by no theatrical exhibition of the mysteries
of the faith j they are restrained by no fonnal liturgy.
The maj estic dome above liS alone suggests the still
I SLA~ I. <63

more majestic arch of heaven, beyond which dwuJs tile


invisible God.
Islamism, teaching the nnity and omnipresence of
Allah, basing its dogma alolle upon moral culture and
the goodness of God, and confining its worsh ip to simple
prayer, has tom away from between the Creator and
the creature the veil suspended there by the old mytho-
logies and the cunning l)riests of the Greek and Roman
religions, in order to conceal behind it "their j ealous,
terrible, and incomprehensible divinity." But far above
all emblems, and material forms, and mysteries, reigns
Allah in his sublime unity. "Christianity," remarks an
eloquent Freneh writer, meaning the Christianity of the
Catholics and Greeks, "more charitable to our weak-
ness, has storied the way from earth to heaven with
legions of saints and angels, reaching down their hands
to those who would mount, in ordcr to bear them to the
radiant Virgin, daughter of man and mother of God,
indefatigable in her intercessions and blessings. Per-
haps this image of hope and consolation placed between
justice that ought to chastise, and the g uilt.y onc who
repents, or can repent, constitutes with ita poetic<'ll sur-
roundings the vitality of the R oman legend. BeholJ ,
110W devotion to Mary dethrones insensibly in Ca-
tholic souls the severe Jehovah of the Bible, and
even the good, but j ust martyr of Golgotha! It is
not we who sllall blame this qllasi-deifieation of the
misericordia, but through all these derivations of the
464

human imagination what becomes of the idea of


God 1"
A few silent worshippers are bowing in the direction
of Mecca. In Greek churches the altar is 011 tbe east
side, but as the holy city of the Moslems is south-cast
from Stamboul, the fai thful, while p erforming their
orisons in St. Sophia, look toward the corner of the
mosque.
The paintings bave been removed, but a few cou-
fused lines on one of the walls show us where was once
a colossal figure intended to represent the Divine
Wisdom. The ancient altar, made of a metal resem-
bling Corinthian brass, has been replaced by a red
marble mihrab, or niche of the Mussulman altar, ill-
dicating the direction of Mecca, while above hangs a
picce of old carpet, a lmost worn to dust by the friction
of pious knees, said to be one of the four upon which
Mohammed was accustomed to make his prostrations.
On the walls are painted in green several immense
crescents inscribed with texts from the Koran. Hum-
ble and unimposing is the Nimhar, or pulpit of the
Friday prayer, which the kiatib still mounts with a.
wooden sword in one hand and the Koran in the other,
commemorative of th. founding of Isla.m. I saw
neither the sweating column, the miraculous golden ball,
nor the imprcssion of the bloody halld said to have been
made upon a column of St. Sophia by the conqueror.
Yet I observed bel"() and there traces of the frescoes,
ISLAM. 465

mosaics, and paintings which graced its interior in the


times of the Emperors. Not long ago some of the pIns-
tering was removed from the dome, revealing severnl
beautiful pictur(ls illustrative of Bible scenes, which,
in accordance with the severo faith of the Moslems
condemning all pictorial and statuesque representations
of men or angels, had been concealed from sight since
the dedication of .A.ya Sophia to Islam. The Ulemus,
true to their ancient creed, ad vised the destruction of
the frescoes thus brought to light, but the Sultan, with
that delicacy of feeling which characterizes all his acts,
directed that they should be carefully covered again,
and added sorrowfully," God only knows how soon
the possession of this temple willl)USS from our hands;
let it be restored to others as it came to us." St. Sophia
is not perfect in point of architecture, fOT Greek art
had degenerated in the time of Justinian. Externally
tJle effect is injured by the great number of irregular
structures clustered around the chief edifice, as well as
by the walls and buttrcsses Cr(lcted by M. Fossati for _
its support., without which, in fact, St. Sophia would
ere this have fallen in ruins.
They rclate in Constantinople that when the doors
of St. Sophia were forced by the barbarous hordes of
the Sultan, there was a priest at the alta,· engaged in
saymg mass. At the noise made by the hoofs of tho
Tartar horses upon the marble pavement and the shouts
of the Moslem soldiery, the priest internll)tcd the holy
20*
466 ROU)[ANIA.

sacrifice, took np the sacred vases, and proceeded with


slow and solemn step toward one of the lateral navcs.
The soldiers, brandishing their cimiters, attempted to
reach him, when he suddenly disappeared i n the wall,
that opened to receive him. They believed at first
that he had escaped by a secret passage, but the
masonry was solid, compact, and impenetrable. Some·
times it is said the listening car will catch the murmur
of ,ague psalmodies within the wall. I t is the priest
still living, like Barbarossa in the cavem of K irfhausen,
and muttering in his sleep the internlpted liturgy.
WllCn St. Sophia shall be restored to the Chr istians, the
wall will open and the priest, leaving his retreat, will
again appear at thp altar to finish the mass, begun
more than four hundred years ago.*
The superstitions Moslems anticipated the downfall
of Constantinople in 1853, and many a longi ng Greek
watched to sec the priest mount w ith phantom tread
the steps of the altar of J ustinian. B ut thougb R ussia
attempted to react the part of Rome, and N icholas
assumed the character of destiny, the priest still mur·
murs his litany ·in the walls of the mosque.

MOSQm; OF ACRMET.

On olle side of tbe ilippod rome, is the Mosque of


Sultan Achmet 'I itb its six lofty minarets. It is these
• T. Gnu~icr

,
• .r . "
ISI.AlI. 467

white marble structures of marvellous height and


slenderness, often shooting out of a green lorest of cy·
presses, like the white bra nchless trunks of lofty pine·
trees, that impart such elegance and airiness of form
to tlle many-domed mosques of Colistanti nopIe. Though
so frail that tlleY almost seem to vibrate wi th the wind
they are crowned with a double Or triple gallery
whence the muezzins call the faithfu l to prayer. As
the minarets form the l)eculiar glory of Mussulman
temples of worshi p, no mosque can have more of them
than that of Mohammed in Mecca. The latter was
formerly provided with six, and the Sultan Achmet
was compelled to add a seventh minaret to the djan'ii
of the Prophet in the holy City, before completing h is
great mosque in Stamboul.
The mosque of Sultan Achmet is the theatre of the
great religious ceremonies of I slam, and pla.ce of asscm·
bly for the court processions. It is there that the birth
of the P rophet is celebrated with great pomp, and there
also that the Sultan repairs in state on the two great
festh-als of the Beiram_ The Sultan whose name it
b ea~ labored upon the edifice with his own hands,
every Mllssnlman Sabbath during its construction, in
imitation of Mohammed at Medina, actuated doubtless
by the declaration of' the K oran : "Allah will build a
palace for him in Paradiso who erects a mosque in hia
honor on earth."
468 IWOMANIA.

TilE MOSQUE OF SOLYMANYEIJ

From the Mosque of Achmet, we proceeded to visi·


the Solymnnyeh, a somewhat exaggerated desCriptiOl
of which I have borrowed from an old Turkish travel
ler.
Solymnn h aving assembled all the thousands of pel'
feet masters of architecture, building, stone hewing:
and marble cutting, who were found in the dominiom
of the house of Osman, three whole years were em·
played in laying the foundations. The workmen pene-
trated so far into the earth that the sound of their pick-
axes was heard by tJle bull that bears up the world. In
three morc years tllC foundations reached the face of
the earth, and the work was then suspended one year
that they might have time to settle, during which the
workmen were employed upon other pious under-
takings. Shah Tahmas Khan, King of P ersia, having
heard of this, immediately sent a groat ambassador to
Soly man, with two mules laden with valuable jewels,
through friendship, fiS he snid, fo r the Snltan,.who,
from want of money, had not been able to complete
this pious work, The ambassador presented the Shah's
letter to the Sultan, and the latter was so incensed on
bearing its contents, that imm ediatel)', in the ambas
sador's presence, he distributed half (If the jewels to the
JewB of Stamhonl, say ing: "Ench Rnfizi (persian)
TSLA:!II. 4GD

changed to an ass at the awful day of doom: shall bear


to the fires of perdition some Jew or other To thell]
therefore I give this treasure that they mny hnve pity
on yon on that day, and be sparing in the use of whipl
and spurs." Then giving another mule laden witl;
jewels to Sinan the architect, he said, still in the am
bassador's presence-" These jewels which werc senl
as being so valuable, have no worth in comparisor
with the stones of my mosque, yet take them and min
gle them with the rest."
It would batHe the eloquence of any tongue to de-
scribe the four great columns of real porphyry, brought
from Egypt on rafts, :md the dome of azure stone whicb
restlupon them, like the vault of the sky. The total
number of lamps is 'twenty-two thousand, and there are
l ikewise some thousands of other ornaments suspended
from the roof. There are windows on all four sidcs of
the mosque, through caeh of which refreshing breezef
and thc sweet songs of nightingales enter and revi\'c
the congregation so t hat they seem to be enjoying lifo
in P aradisc. This mosque is also, by the will of God,
constantly perfumed with an excellent odor of cartllly
flowers. It is crowded day and night by thousands of
worshippers. Its mihrab of plain white marble rcsem-
bles the mihrah of the mosque of Sultan Bajazet rI.,
which was miraculonsly pl~ccd in tbe true p osition, and
by which, as is well known, all sea captains regulato
their compasses) am1 ;>11 the infidel f!.stfl)nomers ofFrtl.ll-
470

gistan correct their watches. 'When it was finished,


the architect Sinan said to the Sultan: "I have built
for thee, 0 Emperor, a mosque which will remain on
the face of the earth until the day of judgment, and
when HaUaj Mansier shall come and rend Mount De-
mavund from its foundation, he will play at tennis with
it and the cnpola of this mosque." The humble writer
of these lines himself once saw ten Frank infidels skil-
ful in geomctry and architecture, who, when the door-
keeper had chauged their shoes for slippers, and intro-
duced them into the mosque, laid their fingers on their
mouths, and each bit his finger for astonishment.
Afterwards on surveying the exterior, they again took
off their hats and went round the mosque, and each of
the ten bit his finger, that being their manner of testi-
fying the greatest amazement.*
Demetrius conducted us into the Ccurl of the Mosque
of Bajazet to sec the pigeons which arc permitted to
live there in great numbers, and for the feeding of
which even the infidel howadji is expected to contribute
a few paras. They werc exceedingly tame, and dark-
ened tIle air as they flew down to pick IIp the handfuls
of grain I ordered for them. No one disturbs them ill
this sacred asylum. They arc said to be descended from
two birds bonght by Bajazet of a l)oor woman, by way
of c1mrity, and given to the Mosque. The idea is beau-
tiful, aud snch a. one as tJlO Turks love to cherish .
• Ev11!1.
JSL.UI. 471

'Mohammed was aecllstomed to say, "Be who is


not affectionate to God's creatures and to Lis own chil-
dren, God wilt not be affectionate to him. Every Mos-
lem who clothes the naked of his faith, will be clotlled
))y Anah in the green robes of Paradise." In one of
dle traJitivllal sermons of the P rophet is given the fol-
lowing&.pologue 011 tho subject of charity: "Wben God
created the earth it shook and trembled, until he put
mountains uP')1l it to makc it firm. Then the angels
asked, '0 Gvd, is thel'e anything of thy creation.
stronger than these mountains l' And God replied)
'Iron is strongcl than the mountains; for it breakn
them.' 'And is there anything of t.hy creation stronger
than iron ~ , Yos; fire is stronger than iron, for it melts
it..' 'Is there anything of thy creation stronger than
fire l' 'Yes; water, for it quenches fire.' 10 Lord, i.e
there anything of thy creation stronger than watel l '
I Yes; wind, for it overcomes water and puts it in Illa-

tion.' '0, Our Su~tai n er, is tJICre anything of thy crea-


tion stronger than wind i' I Yes; a good mall giving
alms j if he give with his right hand and conceal it
from the left, he overcomes all thinh"f!.' "
"0 Prophet!" said one of his diseil)les, U my mother
Omim-Sad is dead; what is t he best alms I can send for
the good of her 80111 1" "Water 1" replied Mohammed,
betJlinkiug h imself of the panting heat of t he desert,
where the thi rsty Arab and Nubian place a jar of water
at. thc head of the deecll.$ed, lest the gl"Cat. want of it in
472 ROIDIAN f A.

this world pursue them in the next. "D ig a well for


her and give water to the thirsty." The man digged a
woll in his mother's name, and said : "This well is for
my mother, that its rewards may reach her soul."
Mohammed also inculcated a spirit of kindness and
furbearance toward all Creatures. "Let him be a repro-
bate who sells a slave, injures a fruit-bearing tree, Or
makes lime of chiselled marble." "A man's trne wealth
hereafter is the good he docs in this world to his fel10w
men. When he dies, people will ask, 'What property
hath he left behind him l' But the angels who examine
him in the grave will ask, 'What good deed hast tholl
sent before thee i' "
" His definition of charity," remarks a distinguished
writer,* "embraced the wide circle of kindness. Every
good act, he would say, was charity. Your smiling in
your brother's face is charity ; and exllOrtation of you r
fellow man to virtuous deeds is equal to almsgiving;
your putting a wa.nderer in the right road is charity ;
your assisting the blind is charity; your removing
stones and thorns and other obstrnctions from the rQad
is charity; your giving water to the thirsty is charity."
Charity of the tongue was also earnestly enjoined
upon the faithful. Abu Jaraiya, an inhabitant of Bos-
rah, coming to Medina and being persuaded of the
apostolical office of Mohammed, entreated of him some
great rule of condI1Ct.. "Speak evil of no one," answered
l ~LAlL 473

the Prophet. "From that time," says Abu Jaraiya, "I


never did abuse ally oue, whether freeman or slave."
Equally beautiful are some of the aphorisms of
Ali:
Riches are increased I>y tho \xluntiful ix:atownl of Alms.
The silver sequin of tho. poor man is I>righter in UIQ eyos of God thall
the gold dinar of Iho rich.
Koop lhy religion by tho expenditure of thy riches,
And thou shalt gain both :
NIlither expend tby religion on keeping thy rlobes,
For 60 thQU shalt lose both.
The garment wherewith thou clothcst another will 00 Plore Ililduring
to thee
Than that wherein thou art thyself clothed.
He gives dQu1Jly who gives with a choerful countenance.

As the Turks are more cruel than others in war, and


especially in the intoxication of victory, BO in p eace,
whell indeed their Cllstoms must be studied in order to
appreciate their virtnes, they yield themselves more
readily to the best impulses of our nature. The precepts
of charity are especi ally impressed upon the minds of
children. This virtue is confined to no class. 111e
Grand Vizier and high P achas may sometimes be seen
leaning over their horses to bestow alms upon a poor
mendicant. The beggar is never tum ed away without
a gift however small, and the donor bestows" for the
pleasure of Allah."
Besides the large sums given to charitable institu-
tions and the part of every MlIssulman's income which
474 RO(;lIANI A.

he is enjoined to bestow in alms, instnnces of beneficence


are constantly occurring that would do honor to the
people of any land Abuses naturally follow. Turkish
cities s,vann with beggars, especially with mendicant
dervishes. They arc to be seen everywhere, in the
streets, by the wayside fountains, in the courtyards of
the temples of worsWp, at the doors of the grcat,-every-
where except in the holy mosques.
Kindness to animals is also strongly inculcated under
the impression that they, like men, will npI)car in
the day of judgment.. Bnt in this respect I have seen
many painful deviations from the spirit of the Koran.
The law directs that he who maltreats an animal shall
be severely punished. Hence the antipathy of MOfr
lems to hunting. It is regarded as highly criminal to
kill, or to deprive of liberty, animals whosc flesh is not
l)roper for the table. Humane persons often buy such
of the hunters and let them go frec. In Turkish cities
may frequently be seen cages of' birds to be sold, under
the Ilamc of azod-rouchlery, or birds to liberate on the
payment of their value.
Many of the followers of Mohammed imitate his
example in keeping in thcir honses a large number of
cats. Now and then a weaItll), Moslem llcglects wor-
thier objects of charity to bequeath his enti re fortune
to the maintenance of' a few favorite antiquated felines.
There is a hospital fo! these animals near Aleppo.
Cruel , however, is their treatment of the multitudes
ISLA)[. ~75

of dogs to be seen ill ally Turkish city. The thousands


of these wolfish, filthy, cicatrized, masterless jackals in
dogs' clothing are a permanent curiosity in Constauti-
nople. They are of a middle size and yellowish color.
More hideous, limpillg, teasing, yelping, starving, fight..
ing, fo ur-footed vagabonds cannot be found the world
over. They furnish an incredible amount of bark for
creatures that look so indescribably wretched. Besides
acting as scavengers in the streets where they live und
die, their principal occupation is to disturb the rest of
weary travellers, and a friend of mine declared they
would keep their jaws working hours after the power of
utterance had ceased. The dogs are never suffered to
enter a house for the reason that the Turks regard them as
unclean. The garment that has accidentally come in
contact with one of them must be washed in seven
waters. No one purposely feeds the curs, at least only
such as have litters of young, but now and then a p ious
Mussul man gives a few paras to a water-carrier for fill-
ing the little stone troughs out of which they are per-
mitted to drink.
Sleeping during tile day in the cemeteries, desert.ed
houses, and even in tile streets, they sally ont. by night,·
like beasts of prey, in quest of food. Omnivora in every
sense of the word they fly at the garbage t hrown into
the streets, dismember the carcases of donk eys left to

decompose in the open places, and even consume cast
off pieces of clothing. No w and then also by way of
476 ROUllANlA.

procuring a rare treat, they exhume a badly-buried


Greek, or tear to pieces a drunkard, lodged in the gut-
ter, tUlless indeed he tastes too strougly of raki or
tobacco. When all other resonrces fail they fall upon
each other, the weaker becoming food for the stronger.
A strungc animal is always regarded as lawful prey,
and beset in the most ferociolls manner.
I saw one day an E nglishman walking through the
streets -of P era. with a huge Newfoundland dog. At the
sight of the monster the Mussulmans held up their hands,
exclaiming, " 0 terrible one! thou makest my beard
tremble with fear ! God is great I" Troops of dogs
followed him, but were careful to keep at a respectful
distance. Not 60 well fared the spauicl led out by a
scn'ant in Pera to take the air. The p rowling curs fell
upon him , and the servant could bring back to his mas-
ter only a hind leg as a proof of his fidelity.
These dogs are fully as sagacious as the Turks them-
seh-es in matters pertaining to municipal regulations_
Though the inveterate enemies of F,-anks, whose hete-
rodox clw.ractcr they appear to detcrmine by instiuct,
the dogs of Islam have put in practice many of the
socialistic theories of the Frcnch p hilosol)hers. Aware
of the adYalltagcs of association, and withollt abandOll-
ing the patriarchal system of go\-crn mcnt, our Oricnt:l1
St. SimOllists diYidc each city into scYcral districts which
arc illhabited and policed by distinct tribcs_
1\ las lvI- the slce py Ira n-lier will)l;C 1IolcllmppC')l s to
ISLA)[. 471

s tand on Ute middle ground of these jealous factions,


and woe to the unlucky cur who ventures beyond the
traditional boundaries of' his tribe, be it for the prospect
of a stolen bone or from an unwarrantable spirit of ad-
venture! The intruder is immolated at once and eaten,
unless others come to the rescue, when battles and car-
nage ensue. I t is bighly IUnusing to sec the few offal-carts
of P era pass through the different dogocracies. Troo})s
ofyelpiug curs follow them up to the limits of theil·
t ribe, and then give 1)laee to others. Foreign sportsmen
when going to the chase are obliged to have their dogs
con veyed outside the city ill wagons.
In Constantinople these canine prodigies can be
studied to the best advantage. The Sultan Mahmoud,
among numerous other reforms, determined upon a
ccup d'etat against the dogs of the imperial city . H e
ordered twenty-five thousand of them to be collected
together, and as the K oran forbids openly p utting them
to death, satisfied h imself with banishing Ulem to an
island in the sea of Marmora. B ut their plaintive cries
reached Stamboul and excited the pity of the tender-
hearted inhabitants. Mahmoud, who had exterminat-
ed cunu ing P aehas aud thousands of fierce Janissaries,
was obliged to yield to the demands of th e populace,
and the dogs wetC b rought back after a single week of
exile. Then the implacable P adisha had recourse to
secret assassinations, forays, and poft;;onings. The dogs,
however, were nfterwards allowed to multiply in Seu-
478

tari j now they swarm as mueh as ever in Stambonl,


numbering, indeed, between thirty Ilnd forty thousand.
The Moslem has a genuine affection for his mosque.
It is to him wllat the temple was to the Greek, what
the Basilica was to tlle Roman . lie loves to make his
ablutions at tIle cool fountains in its court} loves to
repose for hours under its shady colonnades, and be-
11 cath its mnplo dome yield himself up to the quietude
of de\'otion inspired by Islam. To many of the mosques
nrc attached bospitals, schools, baths, and kitchens for
the poor. The wayf;\ring and the indigent sleep under
their arcades witbon t molestation, the guests of Allah.
The children of the poor, and often the rich, repair to
them for their entire education. With all their sur-
round ings of time and moresqllo splendors, the imperial
mosques of Stamboul possess enonnous revenues. To
them belongs more than half the real estate in Euro-
pean Turkey, together with vast possessions on the
Asiatic side of the Bosphorlls. To them also falls the
wealth of persons dying without succession. The estates
of orphaned children are left in care of the moequee
until the heirs attaiu their majority.
At the birth of u princess in the Seraglio, it is cus-
tomary to prepare presents of gold, and jewels, and
costly bridal robes, to be given her on the day of mar-
riage. But should the rosy dreams of youth be dis-
appointed, and death claim her as his bride, the conse-
crated prCMnlA ilT(! regarded as fit only for sacred use,

•e

ISLAM. 479

and are given to one of the I mperial Mosques. The


amount of sterile treasure withdrawn in tltis manner
from circulation is enonnous. Since the reign of Mah-
moud, the Sr>lymanyeh alone has absorbed $6,000,000.
In one of the lower rooms of each mosqne may nan-
ally be seen a number of chests and packages. W hen
a Mnssnlman is about to start on a pilgl·imflge, or does
Dot deem his valuables safe in his own honse, he places
them under the protection of hefL\'cm, for he who would
steal from a mosque wonld add sacrilege to theft-a
crime unknown among the faithfu l. The spider weaves
her web undisturbed over gold and jewels half concealed
from sight, and guarded only by the sacred character
of the place. Thus tlw idea of religion is the prominent
idea of the Mussnlman mind. Thus, also, lIoslem life
once centring around the san(ljak and the Koran, now
centres around the konak and the mosque.
In the court and the Solymanyeh I obsel"Ved several
well-bearded Mnssul mans, ntten ti vel y reading the]{ oran,
in which the faithful appear, indeed, to find a perennial
source of delight. H ow that book hath wrought itself
into the soul and l ife of the Orient, and shaped the des-
tiny of its inflexible nations. Too sacred in the estima-
tion of the Moslems to be printed, to he opened with
unwashed hands, to be held below the waist, to be
touched or even to be spoken of by an unbeliever, ex-
cept with the idea of conversion, it is, when translated
into the occidental language, heavy and weari80me
480 ROU)lASrA.

beyond measutC. But when chanted in the Arabic-


for the P rophet forbade the Koron to be read-the
jingling alliteration and mellifluous flow of words arc
indescribably be,,·itching.
The chief excellence of the Koran, in the estimation
of the Moslems, lies in its classic style and tlle beauty
of its language. I ts pages arc often clasped with gold
and jewels. WllOlc libraries arc composed of richly
hound volumes of the sacred book. The old Moslem
warriors carried it in the left hand while they wielded
the sabre with the right. Caliphs and Sultans have
built up thciq)olitical systems on its maxims. School.
boys gathered in the marble mosques of Stamboul, or
in the shady palm-groves of tho Nile, take their first
and last lessons from its }mgcs. The fa.ithful arc fond
of deriving omens from the Koran by opening it at
hazard, nnd reading the first verse that meets the eye.
They Wl'ite its precepts upon the walls of their temples
for daily contemplation, and inscribe its mottocs upon
their banners to encourage them in battle.
Many of the Moslems are able to repeat the sacred
volume from begi.nning to end, and its beautiful apho-
risms make up much of their daily conversation. And
when in the lands of Islam fcstive bands assemble, no
entertainment is more highly prized than recitations
from the Kornn, given by persons whose businC88 it is
to chant the \'CJ'S(,-8 of the Prophet. It is the lI06lem's
companion ill tllO caravan and tho camp, in his j our.
I;';LA)l. 481

lI eya and labors, evel' delighting him with its beauti ful
thonghts, e,"er consoling him with its sweet words of
prOllllse.
Mohammedanism has accomplished much good in
the Orient. Amollg the 110,000,000 Moslems who re-
eei,'e the Koran, it has abolished idolatry. It has t:mght
that man can worship God without an infallibl e church
.and sin-forgi vi ng priest.. But thc despotic systems of
the East arc as unchangeable in character a$ the bases
of the H imalaya, and to the despotism of the K oran
must be attributed the present condition of the Ottoman
Empire. 11lC idea of religion is so strongly impressed on
the Ottoman mind, that without a change in faith there
can be no essential ebange in the modes of thQught and
things pertaining to outward l ife.
The original purpose of Mohammed was to convert
a fe\v of the neighboring tribes from idolatry to the
belief in one God, The idea of universal, or even of
extensive dominion, was purely an after thOl1ght with
t he Camel-driver of Mecca, or rather with his succee-
SOfS. This is evident from the precepts of the Koran,
and the" acts and sayings" of the Prophet. Duri ng
the lunar month of R amazan, the Turkish Lent, a rigid
fast is enjoined upon the faithful. No one is allowed
to eat, drink, smoke, enjoy the fragrance of a rose, or
gratify any appetite whatever, from sunrise to the time
when, as ~(u ~sn 1m:\Ilf'; say, "a ",ldte thread ca n no longer
be distin; uished from ono that is black." Trying as
2t
482 JIOI:ltANIA.

this abstinence is under the burning sun of southern Asia,


it would be still more unendurable in regions where the
• days are several months in length.
The ablutions also, which are so intimately conneeted
with the worship of Islam, can be practised only in a
wann climate like that of Apabia. The absolute neces-
sity of pilgrimage, as expressed in the declaration of
the Prophet, "He that does not visit Mecca once in
his life is an infidel," could have had refer ence only to
persons Ih,jng at least within 0. few hundred miles of
thc holy city. Auother p roof is the occurrence of the
month of pilgrimage in winter as well as in summer-
the Moslems computing time by lunar months.
In the first war of the Ru&sians and the Turks, tho
latter were obliged to raise the siege of Astrakan.
They then projected an expedition into Russia, but
were deterred by the Khan of the Crimea, who feared
that the success of the Turks would inaugurate his own
entire subj ection to their authority. H e represented
to them that in the regions of the Don and the Volga,
the wiuter extended oyer nine months, and in summer
the nights were ollly three hours long: whereas the
Prophet appointed the eYelling prayers two hours after
sunset, and the morning oriSOllS nt the brenk of day.
Thc Turks, terrified at this seem ing contrad iction
between nature and the ordinances of religion, em-
barked at onee for COllstantinopJe.*
• BiI!lcrofl.'a l lisocll anill&
151.A:\1. .83

The unity of God is therefore the prominent doctrine


of the Koran, but there is no spirituality in that con-
fused imitation of thc Holy Scriptures. The K oran
exalts God, b ut abnses man j tile Bible exalts man, and
surrou nds Deity with inconceivably more grandeur, in
that it makes God condescen d to lmt on the form of
fallen humanity. The Koran is IHlerile in conception
and local in application j the Bible is grand in conception
and un iversal in application, embracing the united in te-
rests of hmllanity in all times and in all places. The
Koran isolates, the Bible nnites and expands. Islam-
ism degrades labor, an d teaches that " no mere effort of
man can in any way augmcnt thc glory of God and the
dominion of the faitb fuV' Christianity ennobles rabor
and says, "8eek and ye 8halljind,. knock and it 8hall be
opened to you." Islamism materializes man; Chris-
tianity s})iritnalizes llim-the fonner by extinguishing
thoughf, the latter by awaki ng it. The one system
degrades existence to an idle dream and promises a
paradise of sensual gratification j the other exalts life
into a heroic stnlggle for ourselves and our race, and
promises a heaven of' spiritual delight.. The teachings
(if Mohammed leave man where they fOlllld him, while
the teachings of' Christ raise him to a sublime height
of virtue and make him worthy of' the promised reward,
H ence Mohammedanism, promulgated by the sword,
must be sustained by the sword, or perish fo r ever.
" Who holds the sword h olds the faith" was long the
484.

cherished motto ot' Islam. Yet Mohammedanism is not


altogether a system of error: if so, it had long since
passed away. Like other religious systems that havo
moulded the Oriental mind it contains some elemente
of truth. From these Islam has derived ita vital·
ity. Error is weakness. Truth alone imparts immortal
"Igor.
The superiority of the Arab raco to that of Osman,
enabled it to rise for a time above the despotism of the
Koran. Endowed with morc spirit and imagination,
the Arabs became the instructors of the world in
science and art; bllt it was only to sillk toa greater depth
of ignorance and darkness. After the flu sh of Ottoman
conquest came the period of decay. When the prond
descendants of Osman laid down the sword, unlike the
Magyars and other conquering nomads from the east,
thcytook up the pipe, and made of life one longdelieious
kiif. From a nation of enthusiasts and conquerors,
the Osmanlis became a nation of slcepers and smokel"lJ,.
They came into Europe \vith the sword in one hand and
the Koran in the other: were they driven out of their
encampment it would be with the Koran in one band
and the pipe in the other, crying, "Kismet! Irumct !
Allah keArim! (God hath willed it I God is great)!"
Yet e"cn now there is an appearance of life in Starn.
boul, for as the blood leaves the extrem ities of the Em-
pirc} it flows to the Ilcart. As the Palcologus promised
the councils of the west to lalillix the Eastern Empire,
ISLAM. ~85

80Abdul Mcdjid attempts to regenerate the Osmanlis by


reproducing French civilization along the Bosphorus.
But the different tYl)CS of civilization cannot be trans-
planted, like exotics, from country to connh·y, and
be made to flourish upon any and every soil. 11le
elements of civilization are indeed thus transferable,
but its peculiar and distinguishing type, the essential
entity, must be a spontaneous development. So far
as the Turks are cOllcerued, the attempt of Abdu l
Medjid will prove 3. failure. The political institutions
of the west call not flouri sh under the regis of Otto·
man protection. Foreign means and fore ign clements
may be employed with advantage, but the plant itself
must be nati vc and not cxotic.
The so called Turkish rcforms are the carn ival of
civilization. To reduce thc folds of t he Turkish turban j
to diminish the ampli tude of Tlll·kish pantaloons; to
remove the veil f.·om the face of Turkish beauty j to
substitute wine for water given by Allah; to exchange
polygamy fo,· French pl"Ostitution-do not christianize
the Turks, but they do destroy what is pecul iar to Otto-
man civilization, and excite the contempt of the green-
turbaned hater of the Tanzimat. It is one th ing to
read magnificent firmans in Stamboul removing old
abuses and equalizing the Christian and t he Turk; it
is another thing to execute them in the distant 1)rQ-
vinces of the E mpire. The Beys and Pacli as, who talk
pomponsly of reforms beside the walls of the Seraglio,
486
become different indi viduals when dispensing life and
death in Syria and Macedonia.
H ow then are the T\lI'ks to be regenerated 1 The
Bible mllst be placed in thei r hands, :Hld a genn of
civilization be developed that shall be pecnliarly Turk-
ish, and consequen tly adapted to the Oriental mind.
But is the Porte wi.lli ng to take this initiatory step 1
So far from it, a COlwcl'tcd Moslem could not live in
Stnmboul, were the fact of his apostacy generally
known. That Arminiall and G,ocek, Cathol ic and Pro-
testant, m'e permitted to worship freely under Ottoman
protection-results not so much from religious liberty or
toleration on the part of the Turks, as from a 80vereign
cont&mpt qf Christianity, morc blighting even than
persecntion, from that laissez faire policy, which has
crushed the pillars of Ottoman civilization, and under
which the well chiselled monumcnts of ancient art have
insensibly mouldered away'.. \Vhat sa\'e Christian ity
can tou ch the leaden brain and iron heart of Islam 1
Yet the Moham medanism of to.-day is far from being
what it was even a quarter of a century ago. Fana-
ticism has in part given place to infidelity, t(l that
absence of religions faith, which is better than error,
and may be followed by a healthy Christian belief.
The faithful admit that converts may be made by con-
viction as well as by the sword. An clastic interpreta-
tion of the Koran, inspi red by the unyielding force of
events and excused by the linguistic pliabiHtics of the
ISLAM. 487

Moslems, declares that the apostate to Christianit.y may


live although his l)resence is not to be endured. AI·
ready a venerable American missionary has taken up
his residence in Stamboul. Already Giao-u'r Ejf(Jndi8,
llO 10Ilg<lr called" Ohristian dogs," arc admitted within
the mosque of Orner in Jerusalem j and, reader, ere ten
years have l)assed Rway, the Christian traveller shall
visit Mecca and Medina. without disgtlisc. Already
the Protest.·mt Bible is sold in more than a hundred
places in the Turkish Empire. The call of the mnczzin
to prayer is often unheeded. Instead of the ablutions,
a little water is sprinkled on the hands and shoes. A
few words are hastily mumbled over for prayers.
Many of the Moslems drink wine, and eat t11C flesh of
animals slain without the 7Jismillah (" In the name of
God "), and piously ignore the difference between mut-
ton and pork.
The Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. The
latter, though geographically ncar, were in reality as re-
mote from the proud denizens of the IIoly City, as the
swarthy tribes of Nubia. But when a. certain man went
down to J C1'icho and fell among thieves, in the all perva-
ding spirit of Clu-istian love, tho good Samaritan became
his brother. It is this spirit which a little band of
American Missionaries is inculcating in tbe Orient.
Though their teachings seem hushed by political con-
vulsions and the thunders of angry powers, they arc
slowly breaking down the antipMhy of races. They arc
488 ROUlU~ IA.

gmllg examples of Christianity, of fraternity, and


libcl,ty , whet·c true Christianity, fraternity, and liberty
arc unknown. And thus by the Rock of Cal vary, on
the I-Ull of Mars, and in the shadow of St. Sophia, with
none of the circumstances and surroLmdings of g reat
national enterp rise, our humble countrymen are build-
ing up a k ingdom whose foundations sh all not be
washed by the waves of time. •

The R amazan, or Turkish Lent, is the most important


fast., followed by the most imposing festival, pecoliar
to Islam. During that sacred month the most Eu.
ropeanized of the Turks return to the cnstoms of their
forefathers. E ven the luxurious divan and the 8/t-iltdt,
are not mlfrequently exchanged for the sheepskin of
the 'furkoman's ten t., while, aside from tile :rcHgious
character of the occasion, everything is made to recall,
as far as possible, the mde life of the nomadic tribes of
Orchun and Erthogrul.
The law of Islam enj oi ns a severe abstinence from
all carnal pleasures during the R amazan. E very MU6-
snIman with the exception of travellers, invalids, and
children, is forbidden to take food or nourishment of
any kind, or even to smoke from sunrise until the dusk
of evening. The most orthodox Moslems will neither
smell of a rose nor caress thci r wives until the sacred
lunar month has expired. The rich spend the day in
sleep and idleness, b ut when the fast occurs in sum-
mer, the brawny boatman of the Golden Honl alm06t
JSLAll. 489
faints at his oar, and the patient hamal beneath his
burden.
As soon, however, as the evening gun announces
the close of the daily fast, Stamboul puts on a livelier
air. The faithful betakc themselves to the gratification
of such appetites as the Koran permits to bc indulged,
not first to the satisfaction of hunger and thirst, as one
would suppose, bnt to the enjoymcnt of the b ubbli ng
nargileh or the long chibouque. The night is spent in
revelry and devotion. The mosques are thrown open
to the CUriOIlS and the devout, and the coffee-houses
crowded with turbaned groups listening in b reathless
silence to the tales of wandering story·tellers. W ith
the Sultan the Ramazan closes the night before the end
of the month, one day earlier than fo r tb e rest of thc
faithful. This circumstance has g iven rise t.o the Turk-
ish saying, that on tbe last night of the fast the Padisha
is the only happy Moslem, or according to that Mussul-
man tenet which confines all true happiness to thc
faithful, the only happy man in the world.
Thcorcti9filly the august Sultan is so exalted above
all other mortals, that the Moslem law per mits him to
contract no matrimonial alliance with the humau family.
But in order to keep up the royal succession he is pre-
sented on the last night of the Ramazan with the most
comely virgin to be fonnd in all the l)rovinces of the
Ottoman Empire.
The favored one, the most beautiful in a. land famed
21*
490 ROUlIANIA.

for beautiful women, is selected by the Sultana Valide,


the mother of the SoYcreign, and by her presented to
him amid all the pomp and circumstance of royalty
of which Islam can boast. On that important occasion
-important for the tender and beautiful being who
may have lived in obscurity the day previous-the
chosen one is conveyed across the Bosphorus in the
imperial barge to be received by the Sultan in one of
his imperial kiosks. In her train follow the high digni-
taries of state-the august powers of Islam, while the
resources of Oriental magnificence are exhausted to
give eclat to a pageant so marvellous in its purpose
and in its surroundings, as to appear more like a tale
of Persian fiction than an actual occurrence.
On the Jast nigllt ' of the Ramazan, let die reader
transport himself in imagination to the l)romontory of
Pera, or some othel' elevated point near the seven-hilled
city. As darkness rolls down from the Euxine through
the gorge of the Bosphonls, and descends upon the
city from the region of Ida and the Bithynian Olympus,
one by one the stately minarets of the Imperial Mosques
become encircled with rings of fire, and seem like pha-
roses looming above a phosphorescent ocean, their
myriad lamps mingling with the orbs of night.
Queenly Stamboul appears as jf bathed in an ocean of
undulating light. In like manner arc illuminated the
fifteen suburbs of Constantinople, the ships in the
Golden H orTl, and the syh'all hanks of the BospllOMl8.
TU I~KISII n"'TlYALS. 491

The view from the lofty tower of Galata, 60 incompa·


rahly beautiful by day, uniting as it docs all the 11appi.
est accidents of climate and llosition, now bccomes C\'cn
more enchanting, and seems like some gorgeous Ori-
ental dream.
At last the imperial cortege darts by thc lloint of
the scraglio. Then arises on the air the cadenced rhythm
of thousands of boatmen, whose fmil barks cut the
sparkling waves between Pera, Scutari, and Stamboul.
Then echo from suhurb to suburb of the city of Con-
stantine the acclamations of myriads whose hearts
throb in sympathy for the chosen one, blooming with
youth and beauty, and the envied of the beautiful, now
about to be brought for the first time into the presence
of her lord. Then innumerable rockets converting
night into day, scatter their golden spangles among
the stars, while the reverberations of artillery roll away
and are lost among the hills of Thrace and Anatolia.
But when, ushered into the royal presence, the chaste
and mystic veil falls fro m the face that it has hitherto
g uarded from every stranger gaze, all becomes as silellt
as death, and night is left alone with eternity. What
fortune is hidden in that fi rst embrace ~ The fate of
empires may hang upon the impression of a single
glance, and the destiny of millions be centrcd in
the sweetness of a sillgle kiss ! She upon wll(lm the
thoughts of an empire are thus bestowed may be for·
gotten to-llwrrow, or hecoming the mother to a roya1
492 ROUMANIA.

heir, add the entanglements of policy and intrigue to


the sweeter entanglements of love, and thus influence,
directly and indirectly, the fate of millions. Strange
evcntualities seem to hang upon the tissue of a
dream.
The three following days, termed the festival of the
Bciram, to distinguish it from the Courban Bciram, or
feast of the sacrifices, seventy days later, are devoted
to universal fostivities and the various out-door amuse-
ments in which the Osmanlis ever delight.
Grateful, indeed, are the festivities of the Beiram
after thc cnervating sanctification of the Ramazan,
after a lunar month of alternate starving and feasting.
Abdul Mcdjid then repairs in grand procession to the
mosque of Sultan Achmet; then are exhibited the
comical farces of Kharangnrez; then nothing but
joyous merry-making is to be seen from Sylvan Eyoub
to the sweet waters of Asia-from the Seven Towers
to Pern and the forest of Belgrade; and then, also,
with strange toleration and in the true spirit of Otto-
man hospitality, whoever can aflord spreads a banqnet,
to which evcl'Y one is welcome, be he rich or poor,
friend or stranger, MUS8uiman or Giao\lr.
During the festival of the Courban Beiram, it is
customary for wealthy }'[Il8Suimal1s to sacrifice toAllah,
and distribute among the poor as many shcep and
cattle as their fortune permits. On that great occasion
thc streets of StambOlllllrc cr(l'wded with the bJeating
I S I,A~ \' <93

folds of Ida Ilnd the llremus, Illld honH~d holocausts


from Anntolin and the plains of the Danube. The
Sultan opens the rel igious ceremony, in person, by
giving the first blow to the first victim.

,

CHAPTER XIX.

MUSSULMA1i6 AND NON-MUSSUL!alAN8.

Ii Whoso game was empiTe8 and whoso stakes were Ihron~


Whoso tablo earth-wh06e dico were human oones."

IN one of the wildest regions of the Alps an immense


glacier, the accumulation of centuries, impends over a
hamlet far below. ThemonntaineCfwhispers as he passes
over it, lest the huge mass part from its icy fastenings.
Men go up from year to year to measure the fissures,
always widening, and ever report the avalanche as near
, at hand, but the A.lpine glacier remains, and the vil-
lagers Jive on, like tJlCir ancestors before them, in a
state of awful insecurity, threatened with swift destruc-
tion everymomcnt.. Suell, for morc than a century, has
been the condition of the Ottoman Empire.
Osman, when but the leader of a nomadic band
whose progenitors had wandered from the banks of the
OXllS to the western confincs of Asia, foresaw in a dream
the future greatness of the Osmanlis. He beheld the
leafy tent under which he rcposed, expand until it
rested on those four magnificent pillars of' empire, the
lfUSSULlL\XS A ND NON-lIGSSULllANS. 495

Atlas, the Taurus, the Hremus, and the Caucasus. At


his feet rolled the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates, and
the Danube, cOITered with ships, like the sea. In the
valleys sprang up cities crowned with pyramids and
gilded domes, while in cypress g roves the prayers of the
Imaums were mingled with the songs of innumerable
birds. Above this leafy tent, grown from the body of
Osman himself, rose the crescent, the symbol of Otto-
man dominion. Its sabre-like branches pointed to the
different cities of the earth, and especially to Constan-
tinople, which, lying at the union of two seas and two
continents, like" a diamond between two sapphires,"
formed the clasp to a ring of empire seeming to embrace
the world. This ring fell into the hands of Osman, and
the Turkish empire was founded, to shoot with meteor-
like brilliancy into the fiNt rank of temporal powers.
The flood of the Ottoman invasion, following the re-
tiring ebb of the Crusades, rolled beyond the Hellespont,
and the crescent took its way westward with such as-
tonishing ra})idity that there was consternation in Rome.
At the fall of Constantinople-an event which caused
the death of P ope Nicholas VI. and made the sceptres
of W estern Europe tremble-a sllccessor of the Caliphs
came to OCCllI)Y the throne of the Constantines. Bchold
:Mohammed n. terming himself the shadow and vice-
gerent of God on earth! "Go to your master," said he
to tile ambassador of Hnnyad before the wolls of Stam-
boul, "and tell him that as there is bnt one ruler in
496 ROUlIA!'IA.

heaven, so there shall be but onc sovereign upon the


earth !"
Nations are not jmmortal, and destiny loves to sport
with the pretensions and pompous designations of men.
Al; the Teutonic tribes were drawn by a secret im·
pulse toward Ole Capital, and Roman civilization sought
to extend its sway westward, so the Greeks, from the
time of Alexander the Great, have inclined toward the
Euphrates, while the tide of Slavonic conquest hasrol1ed
in the direction of the Caucasus. Owing to the dis-
memberment of the Eastern Empire, the fairest seats of
civilization fell an easy conquest to t.he Osmanlis, and
the Turk sat down amidst the fallen temples of ancient
cities, like Marins among the ruins of Cartilage. The
reminiscences of Grecian history, and the triumphs oC
Grecian art-what were they to the simple child of
nature, trusting in Fatality and wedded to an Eastern
system of government and religion as unch angeable as
the mountains1 The matchless eloquence of her ora-
tors and the fine frenzy of her poets could no more tOllch
those brains of lead than move the marble statues hewn
from the quarries of Penteliclls! As n conqueror the

Turk learned nothing from the conquered; nor would
he heed tile voices of civilization until the Sibyl had
opcned her book and rcad from its illumined pages the
certain lesson of his destiny.
Turkey exhibits all the elements of historical interest,
the circumstances attending her origin and growth ..
llUSSU U L \.NS .\NI) NOS-lf U"SSU LlfAN S_ 491

yielding in magnitude ouly to the quick coming events


that cluster round her dissolution. She was great and
glorious when the nations of the 'V cst we re weak and
semi-barbarous. But what has she not lost ¥ Greece
and fair islands in the ..Egean no longer hers; E gypt,
Syria, and the land of Mecca retn ined ollly by the in-
terference of Christian powers; the richest p rovinces Oil
the Euxine incorporated into Russia; the haughty Mos-
lema virtually excluded from Servia and Wallaehia;
Botulin and Albania estranged) and Epirus and Macedo-
nia held by the feeblest tenure-these arc the humi lia-
tions of the Padisha!*
To sustain the Ottoman Empire has been the grent
problem of European diplomacy for the last fifty years.
Careful) however, have the Christian powers been to
impart no elements of strength) but to maintain the
falling Colosslls ill weakness)

" Ever tnlmbling on tho vergo or rate."

Block after block has boou ruthlessly removed from the


magnificent arch of empire which once extended from
Belgrade to Bassora, un til the dominion of the Sultans
has virtually passed away.
Islamism is an A siatic institution) and the attempt
to establish it pennanently on European soil has proved
a failure from the fact that there is no sympathy of
• Poujoulat
498 ROUMANlA.

race, or religion, or otherwise, )etweell the East and


the West. Nor could that simple system by which
Mohammed sought chiefly to convert a few Arabian
tribes to the belief in one God expand like the tent of
Arabian fiction,80 as to embrace the entire regions and
people of the earth.
Western Asia belongs to Islam.
Of the fifteen million Christians living under the
Ottoman government more than thirteen million belong
to Europe. Of the sixteen million Turks more tilan
fOllrteen million live on Asiatic soil, leaving less
than two millions encamped in Europe.
In view of humanity, in view of preventing an
outbreak of the old Moslem fanaticism, in view of pro-
tecting the germs of Christianity springing up on
Asiatic soil, the proj ect of expelling the Turks from
Europe cannot be entertai ned for a moment. Nor, 88
is generally supposed, has the Turkish Empire its centre
of gravity in Asia, but in Europe. This is evident
from the want of sympathy between the different
Moslem races, as the Arabs and the Turks, from the
advance of Mohammed Ali almost to the gates of
StambouI, and also frum the events of the late war.
The Osmanli is fallen upon evil days j

" For as he taught his sword to thirat ror blood,


So by tho thirsty sword his blood is shed."

The race itself is not productive . Physiological laws


H USSUI.lf ANS A.."'l> NON-:U uSSUUU .NS. 499

appear to chcck its cxtcnsion as if the Turk were a


monstrosity.
Notwithstanding his many noble traits, who does
not detest the Turk as an incubus upon c ivilizat ion 1
A man of disti nguished incapacity, he has bllt two
ideas-those of God and of coun try. 'Vedded to
Oriental life he will neither impart to us the wisdom
of the East nor tu m back the streams of science and
religion that flowed thence for centuries to the 'Vest.
Satisfied with " tho contemplation of Allah and the
love of womau," his actual amount of knowlcdge
derived from books or experience, compared with the
scum of Oriental exaggeration, reminds us of Falstaff's
penny's worth of bread to an intolerable amount of sack.
The Mussulman is the best of friends and the worst
of enemies: a model of honesty and simplicity ill pri-
vate life, a paragon of intrigue and display ill office.
IIe combines hospitality with avarice, the dignity of a
philosopher with the credulity of a chi ld, and the
docility of an infant with the ferocity of a demon. The
Turk has a greater talent for sleeping than the fool ish
virgi ns, and would exchange a master-piece by Phidins
for a pipe of tobacco. H is ideas of government, of
religion, and the proprieties of life, arc almost the 0Pl)(\-
site of our OWII. In Turkey women in sombre hues
ogle men dressed in flowing robes of the gayest colors j
here, men in dark ogle women attired in " woven air,"
exhibiting all the tints of the rainbow.
500 ROUllA..'·,"I.\ .

But the Turk is a born ruler. lIe has a substratum


of honesty and integrity which OHm h is ~nem iC8 must
admire-a dignity and noble independence which cou-
trast strongly with the low cunning of the Greeks, aud
the servility of fhe Bulgarians.
W hen Russia and Austria haughtily demanded of
the Sultan the surrender of the Hungarian fug itives,
Abdul Medjid replied, " What then will become of the
ancient hospitali ty of the Ottoman P orte 1 I do not
ask who they are, whence they come, or what religion
they profess. I tak e no part in their politics j but they
arc unfortunate fu gitives, and demand hospitality upon
O llf soil. The laws of the Koran and th e convictions
of my own heart forbid me to give them up whatever
may be the consequences."
The Greece of to-day is the mere shadow of a state,
and the Greeks, politieally speaking, would not be
worthy of a moment's consideration were it not for
their peculiar relation to die Turks and the other Chris-
tian raccs of the Ottoman E mpire. They number in
all about 4,000,000 souls. Of these not fa r from 900,000
inhabit Greece proper, independent of the Turks, but
in reality ruled by F rance and England. More than a
mill ion are scattered through Epirus, Macedonia, and
other parts of Roumelia j while the remain der, not f&r
from two million souls, live in Asia Miuor and upon
the islands of the Archipelago.
Owing to their energy and intelligence the Greeks
p. ~n
hare acquired II. marked superiority oyer the other
Christian races of tho Ottoman Empi re, and imparted
to them something of their own national spirit and
character.
Th eir blood is no longer the pure H ellenic. lie that
would look upon creatures fair as the Graces-would
sec the proudly curling lip, the eye melting with liquid
softness or burning with Attic fire, and the c1QS!;ic fen-
hi res which_scrved Praxiteles tor modcls, will find them
only on the sweet islands of the .LEgean, or in the shady
hamlets of ..Asia Minor. Dllt to the G reek s have de-
scended thc name, the langllngc, and many of the
characte ristics of an ancient race which ga,-c the world
patte rns of he roism a nd vi rt1le, and bequeathed to all
coming time what was best in science and noblest in
art . The waves of the .LEgean, the lIIarmora, and the
Euxine wash the strands where their ancestors erected
the scats of empire_
To the Greeks beloll{,'S the prestige of ancient r(}o
Ilown and qualities fitti ng them to play no subordinate
part in the great events that citlsler a rOIlU(] the nll-
p roac hillg phase of Ottoman history. To these mus t
be IUlded an innate sellse of supe riority to the people
who IUlYe enslaved th em for ecnturies, and the remem-
brance, neve r to he forgotten by a Greek, that the de-
scendant of a barbar ic prince occupies the tllroDe of
the CollstantiDCS. Many of the Greeks of Constanti-
Mple are opulent and powerful. From among them
502 ROUll ,\NI ,\.

have been chosen, for centuries, the dragomen of the


Sublime P orte. The gloomy quarter of the Phanar
fumished a succession of H ospodars for the Danubian
Principalities, while the reputable position of Prince
Kallimaki and M. ::Masurus, as Turkish ambassadors at
Paris and London, indicates with what success they
have cultivated diplomacy.
The Greeks nrc, however, emphatically the traders
and seamen of the Lc\'ant, and it is notorious that the
majority of them prefer the condition of rajaM in Con-
stantinople, with easily acquired gains, to independence
in Athens, where more industry and intrigue are requi-
site to acquire fortune and position. So much for the
patriotism of the Greeks dwelling in European Turke.y I
Equally fond of mercantile and maritime life, full
of spirit, naturally inclined to speculative schemes, and
possessed of an unbound ed love of ad venturous enter-
prise, we would naturally expect to find them at the
head of the commercial interests of the Ottoman Em-
pire, and able, consequently, to influ ence for good or
fO l· evil its political destinies.
The restrictions imposed upon commerce in the
Turkish Empire have, however, prevented the Greeks
from developing their mercantile and maritime cha-
racter to the fullest extent. Their dishonesty also
causes them to be despised by the Turks alld regarded
with reserve and suspicion by the other Christian races.
As among the Mm,suim3ns we find rank without iutel-
lU.lsaUl,.)l ANS .\NI) NO!'i"-llt:Stit: UJANS. 503

Jigence, so among the Greeks we find intelligence with-


out heart.
"The ancient Greeks," says Annstasills, "worshipped
a hundred gods j the modern Greeks worship as many
saints. TIle ancient Greeks believed in oracles and
prodigies, incantations and spells j the modem Greeks
havc faith in relics and miracles, in amulets and divina-
tions. The aueient Greeks brought rich offerings and
gifts to the shrines of their deities for the purpose of
obtaining suceess in war and pre-eminencc in peace;
the modcm Greeks hang up dirty rags round the sanc-
tuaries of their saints to shake off an ague or to propi-
tiate a mistress."
The Armenians are widely disseminated in the
Ottoman Empire. They number in all about 2,000,000
souls, one-fourth of whom are established in Europe.
Their parsimonious disposition and skill in financial
affairs render them especially useful to the Turkish au-
thorities. More enterprising than the Turks, and ho-
nester than the Greeks and Jews, they rank with tho
Ottomans as the "Pearl of Infidels," and are often
tonned the camels of the "Osmanlic State." TIlcy
have charge of the Mint at Constantinople, and are
fanners of the revellues.
The Armenians enjoy greater religious privileges
than the other Christian sects, and, politically, have no ill-
terestin ameliorating the condition of the Ottoman Em-
pire, for individual cases of industry thrive best amidst
ROUlIA..'iIA.

general indolence, and superior cnnning is no enemy of


intrigue. They arc, par ~llence, the banken and
courtiers of the Empire, and many of them tum their
attention to diplomacy, in which as well &8 in trade
thcy equal the Greeks. Thousands of Annenian fami-
lies, attractcd by the prospect of gain, have fonnd their
way into the remote provinces of European Turkey,
where they livo cxclusively in towns and cities.
In figure the males resemble the Greeks, aDd with
tilC exception of tho cap, dress not unlike the Penians.

The females are not wanting in Oriental channa, but


the Turkish ycutmak and thosllroud·like gowns in whieh
Eastern women envelope themselves eonceal nearly an
dl o traits of beauty,
Of tJle Slaves I have already spoken.
Some philosopher has remarked that the world could
not exist without the Jew;;. llowe\'er that may be, no
part of the civilized or partially civilized world ie
without them. Tbey number in al1leB8 than 6,000,000
souls, yet are 80 widely scattered that you can viall no
seaport, or place where tnen "do congregate" for tnf'-
fie in money, in daves, or in merchandise of any }Jlld,
without finding thcre representatives of thia race,
whose refuge is the wide earth, wh()6e home i, the
narrow grave. The J ews are most numerous in Po-
land, wl.ither tJ.oy escaped from thc States of Germany
11) 3"oid perseclltion. More than 300,000, moetly of
Spanisl. dC&('cnt, arc St!tt1ed in ElIl'O)l('an Turkey, their
)1t;SSt; L~IAN S AND NON-m;SS UDIA...""S. 505

ancestors having taken refuge there after the expulsion


by Ferdinand and Isabella. P erhaps an eqllulnumbel'
may be found in the African and Asiatic provinces of
the Ottoman Empire j and so widely dispersed are they
through the lands of Islam, that in the remotest cities
reached by caravalls yon will find some tllt'ball ed,
long-haired Jew ready to convert your gold into tho
currcney of the country with a saving discount to him-
self. Jews are to be met with in China and on the
coast of Malabar. They swarm in Bokhal'a and may
be seen in Madagascar and on the western coast ot
Africa, In Cochin China there arc two Jewish races.
black and white. In Yemen the Jcws sC;H'cely differ
in appearance from the roving Bedouins. I n Cireassia
they are wild mountaineers, having neither the Bible
nor the Talmud, In different parts of Europe they
enjoy different degrees of l iberty, and in the Unite<l
States alone, where, indeed, the emancipation of the
race began, arc they enti rely exempt from partial Ie·
gislative restrictions.
But, sojourning everywhere, they are everywhel'e
strangers. I have noticed that among the blond{' na-
tions of the North, the Jews have dark hair and eyes,
while among the dusky nations of the South it is quite
the reversc; so true is it that they everywh ere form a
distinct people, Difl'ering thus physically and socially,
:md adopting for the most part the language and cos·
tUllle of those among whom thoy dwell, they cherish a
22
506 lI.OUMANlA,

J'emarkable uniformity in religious belief, and thiuk


with olle mind upon the destiny of the lIebrew race.
Judaism is the mother of two religions which have
almost; overspread the earth- Christianity and Moham-
medanism-two daughtel"S who have inflicted upon her
innnmerable evils, notwithstand ing Ou r Saviour and
the Apostles were all Jews ; notwithstanding Abraham,
Moses, aud Jesus a rc llumbered among the six great
prophets of Islam, The progenito]'s of the MeslOillh,
made illustrious by their supernlLtural origin and celes-
tial guidance, the repositories of dh'ine oracles and the
chosen interpreters of the will of Goa,- their anllals
reaching to the first ages of the world and their very
cxistcllcc a miraele,-behold how the Children of Israel
have survived the overthl"Ow of thei r temple and their
altars, and, dispersed among the nations, become the
slaves of the human race, the sport of fortune, and the
contempt of the whole earth!
A wild and terrible legend is that of the middle ages,
which personified the Jewish nation by the trail:8 of
the Wanderillg Jew. It represents an old man, wilh
naked feet, unco\'cl'ed head, and long white beard,
wandering ceaselessly over the earth, His fac e is pale.
A mark of blood is upon his forehead, His eyes
burn like sapphires beneath their oblique lids. W ith
an cagle-like nose and blood-like eyes, squalid and harsh
in features, and clad in a coarse woollen gow n, he twer
pursues, witll staff in haud , hilS iUlCI"Illiuaule j'JlIl"Iley.
MUSSUUL\.XS AXD NOX-)!USSULMANS_ 507

Speaking all languages and traversing aU lands, know-


ing not the purposes of God concerning himself, and
ever driven OIlward by a secret impnlse, he is trans-
ported from place to l)lace with the speed of the wind;
and as the long centuries come successively to a close
his old age renews itself with the vigor of youth, in
order that he may complete the weary round of ages.
TIle pe<?ple wonder as he hastens past. Once or twice
only has he paused to tell his story. He was of the
Jewish nation; Ahasuerus by name, and a shoemaker
by trade_ Dwelling in Jerusalem he persecuted Our
Saviour, and was of those who cl'ied "Crucify him."
The sentence of death having been pronounced, he
rail to his house, before which J estls was to pass on
the way to Calvary. Taking his child in his arms he
stood at the door with all his family to behold the pro-
cessIOn. Our Saviour, weighed down by the heavy
burden of the cross, leaned for a moment against the
wall; and the Jew to man ifest his zcal cruelly struck
the innocent one, and pointing to the place of cxe-
cution, bade him go on. Then J esns, t u rning to the
unfeel ing child of I sracl, said:-

"Thou refus<:st rest to the Son of God:


r go, for it must ne<!d.~ be;
But for the<! tI,ero shall be no rest
Or repose until I return.
Go forth on thy jounley,
Leavo tloin( <,)wn; tr;W<l1"OO 'n ,uubiWl and - .
508 l!.OC\lANL~.

Palrlillg neither in the cities nor the desert8,


Nowhcm--not (l\'en in the tomb.
As an cxampla to t'le Universe, and bearing
Everywhere tho heavy weight of my curse ;
Much Malt thou long for death, thy deliverance,
But !!halt not die until the day of judgmeutl"

H e assists at the crucifixion, and then goes torth a


mysterious stranger, whose feet shall become familiar
with alliallds.
H ow age after age he IOIl~ for the sweets of death
and the rcpo"e of the tomb! But in spite of' death he
must live Oil j his d ust shall not mingle with that of
his ancestors. He drags himself from a gloomy cavern
of Mount Carmel, shaking the dust from the beard
grown even to his knees. Nine grinning skulls are
before him. He seizes and hurls them from the top
of the moulltain, and they.$O bounding down from
rock to rock. They arc the skulls of his parents, of
his wife and six small children, all of whom have been
able to die j but he cannot. He rushes into the flames
or falling J erusalem, and attcmpts to bury himself
bcneath the crumbli ng ruins of Rome ; but in vain.
Flying from cities and men, the wanderer seeks the
solitary places of the earth. H e climb:; the cverlasting
mountains. P assing beyond the region of verdure and
of dashing torrents llis feet tread the seas of amethyst
and opal. Above him arc only peaks shrouded in
mists and elernal snow:;. The iarill orT ca0..... le soars not
ltUSSUL~lANS ANn NON-lIUSSUD!ANS. 509

so high. There arc no sounds save the emeklings of


the glaciers. The soul seems almost to touch the
heavens above. There surely the Wandering J ew shall
TCStf No. A p ursuing angel unsheathes a sword of
:flaming fire, and, 10! the wanderer beholds once more
in the heavens the drama of the Crucifixion. The way
from eal·th to heaven is storied with myriads of celestial
beings radiant with light. Before him are all the
martyrs and saints a.nd sages who have ever lived and
died. F or a moment he gazes upon the v ision j then
turns away, chased by the sword of fl ame and demons
offrightful form. Again he wanders over the earth,ever
with five pieces of copper in his pocket, ever with the
mark of blood \Ipon his forehead. Maddened with the
agony of life, he throws himself into the crater of .LEtna,
but the boiling liquid and slllpllllrolls flam es harm him
not.. The :floods of lava vomit him forth, for his hour is
not yet come. Embarking upon the sea, the wind raises
its- surface into mountain waves-the vessel divides,
and all perish save the Wandering J e\v. Too light to
sink in the oeean, its waves cast him upon the hated
shore. He plunges into a hundred bloody con fli cts
without sword or shield. All in vain. The leaden
balls rain harmlessly upon him; battle-axes and cimi-
ters glance from his charmed body. Where » .ouuted
squadrons fight with the fu ry of demons, he casts him-
self undCT the feet of the horsemen, and is unhanned,
so riveted are his sonl and body together. He says to
510 ROUllANIA.

Nero, 'll'hou art drunk with blood." To Christian


and MUS6ulman, "Drunk art thon with blood." They
invent the most horrible tortures for his punishment,
yet injure him not. Leaving, in bis vain pursuit of
death, the lands that throb with life and industry, the
Wandering Jew threads the solitary jungles of the
tropics. He walks in poisoned air. Fierce serpents
sport around him, but none venture to harm.
And thus he wanders,

- - - - " Traversing mountains IIIld seas,


Pausing neither in the cities nor the deserta j
Nowhcrc--not even in the tomb."

There may ha\"c been something providential 10


thus bringing so many of the Jews to the confines of
the Holy Land, but it seems hardly possible that they
shall ever be restored llS stich to their ancient inherit-
ancc. The Turks, like the Jews, refer to Abraham 88
their great progenitor j like them they are strict theists,
abhor swine's flesh and practisfl circumcision. For
this reason they fonnerly regarded the Jews with more
favor than the other sects of unbelievers, styling them
Yealir (strangers), while the Christian subjects were
called X0U8aphir (servants). The Jews of European
Turkey are governed by a Council consisting of six
members under the direction of a Chief Rabbi, who
resides in Constantinople. Two Jews also take part in
the deliberations of the Grand Divan. Though enjoy·
MUSSUL~[ANS AND NON-~IUSS Ul.MANS. 511

ing greater p"ivileges than arc granted to their scct in


any other part of Continent.'ll Europe, they are suffi-
ciently mean and wretched. A few of them are
wealthy, and serve the Porte in the capacity of bank-
ers, but their financial operations bear no comparison
with those of the Crrosnses of Western EllrOpe, who
supply nations with the sinews of war, and claim tri-
bute from kings. The great majority, however, earn a
subsistence as traders and artisans, appearing, indeed,
to thrive best in the midst of universal decay and disso-
lution. Let the Ottoman Empire fall in pieces, and the
Jews would remain 7.JrQkeriTI{J among its ruins.
Yet the Jews of the Ottoman Empire, notwithstand-
ing their degradation, exhibit a certain intellectual
tendency. They live in an ideal world, frivolous and
superstitious though it be. The Jew who fills the
lowest offices, who deals out raki all day long to
drunken Gre-eks, who trades in old nails, and to whose
sordid soul the very piastres he handles have imparted
their copper haze, finds his chief delight in mental
pursuits. Seated by a taper in his dingy cabin he
spends the long hours of the night in poring over the
Zohar, the Chaldaic book of the magic Cabala, or,
with enthusiastic delight, plunges into the mystical
commentaries on the Talmud, seeking to unravel their
quaint traditions and sophistries, and attempting, like
the astrologers and alchymists, to divine the secrets
and command the powers of Nature. "The humble
512 ROUMAN!A.

dealer, who hawks some article of clothing or some old


piece of fumiture about the streets j tbe obsequious
mass of animated filth and rags which approaches to
obtrude offers of service on the passing traveller, is
perhaps deeply versed in Talmudic lore, or aspiring, in
nightly vigils, to read into futurity, to command the
elements and acquire invisibility." Thus wisdom is
preferred to wealth ; and a Rothschild would re.i('~~ a
family alliance witb a Christian prince to form one
with the humblest of his tribe who is learned in He-
brew lore.
The J ew has his revenge:

"ThQ pound of flesh which I drunand or him


Is dearly bought, ig mine, and I will have il."

Furnishing the hated Gentiles with the means of


waging exterminating wars, he beholds, exultingly, in
the fields of slaughtered victims a bloody satisfaction
of his <; lodged hate" and "certain loatlling," more
gratifying even than the golden Four-per-cents on his
princely loans. Of like significance is the fact that in
many parts of the world the despised J ews claim 88
their own the possessions of the Gentiles, a.mong whom
they dwell. Thns the squalid Yeslir, living in the
Jews' quarter of Balata or Hashkeui, and even more
despised than the unbelieving dogs of Christians,
traffics secretly in the estates, the palaces and the
~WSSUUIANS ANO NON·:lIUSSUJ.:I{A...""S. 513

villages of the great Beys and Pachas, who would


regard his touch as pollution. 'Yhat, apparently, can
be more absurd? Yet these assllmed possessions, far
more valuable, in fact, than the best "estates in Spain,"
are bought and sold for money, and inherited from
generation to genemtion.
The 8,000 Israelites now living in Jerusalem arc suf-
ficiently mean and wretched. The l ondon Jews'So-
ciety not long ago opened a large farm in one ot' the
valleys ncar the Holy City for the purpose of afford-
ing the Jewish population employment, but; found that
the latter preferred the corroding idleness and stinging
want everywhere visible in their quarter of the city to
a livelihood acquired by honest industry. One of the
Missionaries of that Society informed me that it was
an easy matter to make nominal converts, since many
of the Palestine Jews willingly embraced Christianity
in consideration of the suit of clothes given them, both
as a charity and a badge of conversion. But my ill-
fonnant stated, in addition, that in such cases their
Christianity wore out considerably in advance of the
garments. 1 do not know, however, that the London
Jews' Society ever adopted the method. of ascertain-
ing the number of their COil verts employed by the
Russians a few years ago in one of the newly con-
quered provinces of Transcaucasia. An article of
dress, appropriately called a &Jul.wa'rIMr, was pro-
mised to each one who should make a profession of
22*
514 ROorAS"'.

Christianity. &ul-warmers cnmc greatly in demand,


and in a short time it was found that twice as many
of them had been gi ven out as there were souIa in the
entire proyincc.
The surgeon in the J ews' Hospital in the Holy City
mentioned to me one of the wealthiest Jews in Pa-
lestine who, although a married man, had been powp.r
fnlly smitten with the charms of a Gentile maiden.
To espouse the fair one he was obliged to renounce
his religion. Tbis he did, but was bafBed by his
quick-witted wife, who apostatized at the same time,
and threw herself between the love-converted Jew and
the willing Gentile. The conversions, however, were
not lasting, and a short time before I visited Jerusa-
lem, the Israelite and his wife slid back into Jewry
together.
While travelling in the East I was once obliged, in
consequence of illness, to spcnd two weeks in a Jewish
family. 'Vc did not fare sumptuously every day, nor
was it a matter of Eastern hospitality. There was
much praying in the house in the Hebrew manner;
there was no fire kindled on Saturdays; there "'at the
covering of the face while looking toward Jerusa]em in
holy meditatioD and the observance of rites innnmera-
ble, but the sharping Israelite, after insisting upon re-
ceiving much more than I had agreed to give, prayed
God and allowed me but fifty pi8fltrea to the dueat,
whereas I should have had sixty. During those two
:M:I1SSI1LMANS ANn NON·lfUSSUUIANS. 515

weeks of tribulation I 'Wfl';; not allowed to si t at table


with the family, as they in their peculiar sanctity would
not eat with a publican and sinner.
Let me not bc understood as condemning the efforts
made to convert the Jews in Palestine and elsewhere.
Far from it. There are many faithful converts in
Jerusalem. One of the most energetic Missionaries
laboring in their midst is a German lady, a Jewcss by
birth, who has recently purchased a part of Mouut
Olivet for a Christian cemetery. I mention these cir-
cumstances to illustrate the degrn.ded cond ition of the
eight thousand Jews inhabiting the Holy City. No-
where else are they so despised, and consequently so
worthy of our Christian sympathy. It is to be hoped
that the new Paeha-a liberal 1.Ioslem of the reform
school-will govern them with more kindness than the
Shylock of a Turk who plundered alike Mussulmans,
Christians and Jews. The very boy who donkeys you
aU day long through the streets of the H oly City, will
exhaust the calendar of Moslem saints in his impreca~
tions upon the stubbo')m beast, and end with calling it
a Jew. They are not suffered to desecrate with their
pl'CSence the site of the Temple j nor, indeed, if per-
mitted, would they enter the gate leading to the
Mosque of Omar, from a belief that under it arc
buried the parchmenl:8 of the Pentateuch.
A portion of the wall near tlle south-west corner of
the "Inclosure of the Temple" bears unmistakable
516

marks of great antiquity. Tradition says that the


foundation was laid by David and the superstructure
completed by Solomon. The blocks of" which it is
composed arc of immense size, and were doubtless
brought from the immense subterranean quarries dis-
covered two years ago by an American missionary,
Mr. Barclay, under the present City of Jerusalem.
This is the least exposed portion of the wall of the
Temple, and if indeed overthrown in any of the politi-
cal convulsions which befell the city, it must have
been rebuilt with the original material. I t is signifi-
cantly named " The J ews' Corner." To this spot, hal-
lowed by so many tender associations, they are per-
mitted to repair, on the payment of a eertain tribute,
to weep over the humiliation of their race and coun-
try. Hither, every evening of the week, and espe-
cially on the evening of the J ewish Sabbath, go the
sorrowing children of Israel to bathe with their tears
the foundations of their beloved Temple-with wann
tears that should melt the stony hearts of their oppres-
sors. And I have seen nothing so sad throughout the
lands of Islam as w hen before those tear-washed blocks
of granite they read the lamentations of J eremiah, Bnd
chanted with almost penitential accent-
"Lord build, Lord build,
Build thy boU8/l lIpeedily [
iD haat.ll in haete I even ill oar dq
Build thy bouee speedily 1~
:\H;,5St;UI.\.:>;S AND NO!' ll USSULMAlS S. 517

The J ews of the Holy City have a house of learning


called B we Amdra8h, where one hundred Rabbis study
the law and the traditions day and night. For their
support contributions are taken i l~ nil the J ewish Syna-
gogues on the feast of the Purim. The Rabbis who am
sent out from tJIC H oly City to collect in the sums thus
given, carry with them a quantity of "Jerusalem earth"
to be distributed among congregations. When,in most
lands, a Jew has b een eoffined and is about to be
buried, they put upon each eye of the corpse as much
of this Jerusalem ea rth as can be held upon a shilling.
More desired by the J ew t.han costliest sepulture in
other lands is the privilege of humble burial on the
rugged slopes of Olivet, and often an aged pilgrim,
bent down wi th ye~lI"S and the sorrows of his people,
repairs to the City of Desolation to die there and have
his dust mingle with that of his forefathers, in sight of
Zioll and Moriah.
Russia, whatever may have been her secret purposes
in the past, whatever may be her aims in the fu turo, has
been of lasting service to European Turkey. \Vilh in-
calculable evils she h as also brought incalculable good.
'1110 Northern Enchanter has aroused her sleeping na-
tionalities, has reanimated her expiring strata of civili-
zations. More than all other powers combined, Russia
has brought back to the Greek the thQught of his heroic
origin, and awakened in the Slave the remembrance of'
his3ncio Itdominion. She has givcn law and organization
518 ROCMANlA .

to the klephts of' the mountains, w d int.piring some-


what of her own barbaric courage in the timid Wal
hlChs and Bulgarians of the plains, has taught them to
aspi re to equality with their Turkish 101"ds. Even the
rude shocks of war have tended to arouse the dormant
energies of these Christian races.
F ar be it from me to apologize for Russian despot-
lsm. May the freedom of speech and libe rty of action
enjoyed in Turkey never be snpplanted by Cossaek
violence! FirmaM decladng all men equal before the
law, though imperfectly exccuted, arc infinitely prefer-
able to despotic Ukases asserting the divine right of
absolutism, and wri tten, if needs be, in human blood.
The policy of Russia, like that of Austria, has ever
been fi rst to liberate the neighboring nationalities and
afterwards enslave them to herself. Thus Russia aided
and encouraged the Grroco-Slaves to b .·cak the chains
of Ottoman bondage. The normal spon taneone pro-
gress exhibitcd by European Turkey, slight though it
be, is mainly owing to Russian influence. By impart-
illg to the thirteen million Cillistians of European
T urkey ideas of order and gm'ernment, by imprO\·ing
their culture, and the encouraging of industry, the
CZfU"S have done something in the way of their rege-

neration.
Every stroke of the axe, every stroke upon the
anvil is, from the mystel·iolls eonnexion of things, a
blow UpOIl the hmzen shield of tyranny. When the
• lalUSSULUANS A..'W NON-lIUSSULMANS. 519

last despot slul.ll have passed away, and men learn the
alt of war no more, the nations can beat their swords
into ploughshares: bllt before the dawn of that auspi-
cious day the down-tl"Odden millions of Europe must
beat plquglultal'ea into 8WQ1·da, and reach freedom
through the red waves and fi ery Stlrgcs of revolution.
Russia, lying between the Occident and O rient,
extends her arms to both. On one side she has the
enlightened nations of Europe, on the other the noma-
dic Ii·ibes of the Asiatic 1)lains_ She has the energy
and civilization of the west., but in soil, in climate, in
political and national chamcteristics is far more closely
allied to Asia Ihan to Europe.
I t is affirmed tha t Rnssia is a barrier against the
irruptions of castel"ll barbarians. Tims fur, howevm·,
slle has rendered them more dangerous by imparting
to them ideas of government and military organiza-
tion-clements of civilization that strengthen without
enervating.
Defeated in her plans of conquest it is to be hoped
that R ussia will cuter upon the mission whieh Turkey
should have undertaken-the blending of the East and
the W est. Becoming thoroughly civilized herself, she
may arouse the .Asiatic nations fl·om their lethargic sleep
of centuries, engraft upon them the ci vi lization of the
west, and impart to our too material conceptions some-
thing of the dreamy imagination and "mystic spirit of
the Orient als.
520 ROlj lf AN l A.

The I10W barren plains of' Tural, were once reo


nowned t hroughout the world for their industry and
commerce. Cities, like Samarkand, with a population
of half a million of souls, b ecame t he seats of wealth
and culture. The OXlIS and Jaxartes, co\'ered with
shi ps, fl owed throllgh a land designated as an earthly
l)aradise. It may b e the destiny of Russia to restore
this ancient order of things.
The enemies of Rassia do not appear to realize the
importance of her military position in Asia. F rom
Aehalzik, on the sonthern slope of the Caucasus, it is not
more than fOll r hundred and fifty miles to Alel)po. The
forme l' is an elevated point on a plateau from which it
is comparati\'ely easy to descend in one direction to the
mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates, in another to the
Mediterranean and the Bosphorus.
It is from this position that those flaxen·haired
children of the north hope oue day to descend to water
their horses along the H ellespont and shake the rupee
trees of I ndia.
The great problems 01' history arc soh'cd slowly.
Russin may requi re ages fol' the accomplish ment of her
destiny. Though beaten in n hund red battles, she will
remain formidab le. H er elastic power will again ex·
pand; history may repeat itself in her example.

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