hundred and ninety-nine, he invaded the territory of Nicomedia. From that epoch may be dated the commencement of his reign, which lasted twenty-seven years. Every day added something to his fame or his power, and his career was closed with the conquest of Brusa, by his son Orchan.

"Orchan instituted the office of grand vizier, decorated Brusa with magnificent edifices, and formed a regular body of infantry. He conquered Nice, and the whole of the ancient kingdom of Bithynia, as far as the shores of the Hellespont. The emperor of Constantinople was in duced to give him his daughter in marriage; but notwithstanding that Orchan engaged, in asking her for his haram, to fulfil the duties of a subject and a son, he shortly after passed the Hellespont, and took possession of the European fortresses.

"Amurah I. succeeded him; and subduing Thrace, made Adrianople his capital. In his time the famous corps of the janizaries was instituted. He was assassinated while walking over a field of battle, by a Sclavonian soldier, who started up from among the wounded and the dead, and stabbed him in the belly. "His son, the renowned Bajazet, surnamed, by the rapidity and terror of his career, the Thunderbolt, was the first of the Ottoman line, or the race of Othman, who received the title of sultan.

"It is needless to trace the genealogy further down. From him Mahmoud is descended. It is remarkable, that, notwithstanding the boundless polygamy allowed to the sultans, Mahmoud is the last of his family; and on the throne, at a time when the concurring opinion of the world is, that the Turks must - speedily abandon their European empire.

Among various anecdotes that I have heard of Mahmoud, the following, as tending to illustrate his character, and the condition of the state, are the most worthy of being repeated. When about to mount his horse, in order to be inaugurated, the chief of the janizaries, according to the duty of his office, advanced to hold the stirrup. 'Let it alone,' said the sultan, I ought rather to hold yours.'

Hearing lately that there was a seditious murmuring among the janizaries, he went secretly at night to the quarters of the officers, and calling them before him, said, that he was informed of their mutinous spirit, and to take care that he heard no more of it. For the time this decisive conduct produced the desired effect.

"When the fleet returned last winter, from the Black Sea, it came in unexpectedly. The sultan, fearing that there had been a battle, went at midnight in his barge to satisfy himself.

There is another anecdote told of him of a different complexion. An itinerant showman had a buffoon, whom he used to dress and exhibit to the Turks, as a speaking bear. The sultan, hearing of so suprizing an animal, commanded it to be brought to the palace. He appeared highly amused, and requested the keeper to sell it: this, however, the keeper managed to refuse; his majesty then desired that it might be left for a day or two for his amusement, and he ordered it to be placed in a cage among his other wild beasts, where it was offered no food, but only raw heads and bloody bones, for three days, at the end of which the bear was dismissed.

"Janizaries.-From the time of Orchan, the Ottoman chiefs were persuaded that their military go

vernment

vernment required the support of a standing army; and that the recruits ought to be drawn from the hardy athletic inhabitants of Europe.

As by the Mahomedan law, the sovereign is entitled to the fifth part of the spoil and captives, Amurath I. by the possession of the fortresses of the Hellespont, was enabled to carry the opinion of Orchan into successful effect. He stationed officers at Gallipoli, to intercept the Christian vessels, passing to and from Constantinople, in order to take from them the stoutest and handsomest youths.

"The captives were educated in the religion, and disciplined to the arms of the Turks. Those most conspicuous for talents or beauty were drafted for the service of the imperial palace. The alert were taught the arts of horsemanship and military tactics, while the studious were instructed in the precepts of the Koran, and in the Persian and Arabic languages. As they advanced in seniority and merit, they were appointed to civil, military, and even to ecclesiastical employments. At a mature period of experience and knowledge, they were admitted into the number of the forty Agas, that stand before the sultan; and many of them, by caprice or esteem, were promoted to the government of provinces, and the highest offices in the empire.

"For maintaining the number and spirit of this corps, the most extraordinary and detestable species of tyranny was invented. When the regal fifth of the prisoners was diminished, or inadequate to supply the requisite number, an inhuman conscription of every fifth child, or in every fifth year, was levied on the christian families. At the age of twelve or fourteen, the most robust

youths were impressed, considered as the slaves of the state, and disciplined for the public service.

"But, like every other part of the system and frame of the Turkish government, the constitution of the janizaries has become thoroughly and incurably corrupted. Instead of being considered as constituting a military corps, the janizaries ought now to be described, as an order of rank in the state, with high exclusive privileges; receiving pensions without rendering service, arrogating to themselves the power of dictating to the sovereign what measures of policy he ought to adopt, and of convincing him that he reigns but by their permission. It is only in the gradations of rank, and in the spirit of their incorporation, that they have any thing military about them. They practise no exercises; and by far the greater number are mere civil citizens; pursuing their crafts and professions as soberly as the livery of London. It is no longer necessary to have recourse to the ancient means of recruiting. Fathers, for the pay, are anxious to get their sons on the lists; and the dignity of a janizary threatens to become hereditary. I have seen them lining the streets during the processions of 'the sultan; a great proportion were boys, and many had the crooked spine, and squalid face of sedentary industry.

"British Legation.-Constantinople possesses one curiosity, interesting, above all others, to the British traveller; and that is, the British Legation. In venturing to state my opinion of an institution that has existed so long, and which has been subject to the serutiny of men, deservedly esteemed for their talents and public spirit, it is necessary to mention, plainly, that I hate the interference of foreigners of all de

scriptions

scriptions and classes whatsoever, in any of those national affairs, which affect the national character. In matters of policy, connected with other states, it is necessary to consult the ministers of those states, but only to consult. To submit any part of the British means to their controul and guidance, without some reason, by which an important local advantage is gained, is an absurdity, so great, in my opinion, that I but feebly express my feeling, when I say that I view it with hatred.

"The British Legation at the Sublime Port consists of two departments, which may be called the Deliberative, and the Executive. The Deliberative is composed of the minister and the secretaries, who come from England; and the Executive is formed of the interpreters, who are natives of the country, and subjects of the sultan. The former consists of persons, almost, necessarily, ignorant of the usages of the Ottoman government; the latter, of persons both theoretically and practically ignorant of the British government; and, what is of more consequence, of the British spirit. There never was an interpreter employed by the British nation in Constantiuople, that knew even what is meant by the term. From the time of the first mission, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, down to the period of the last appointment, possibly there may have been exceptions, in the qualifications of the ministers, to the full amount of what I have said about the Deliberative branch of the Legation. To this extent the statement may be qualified, but no further.

;

"With the ministers of the sultan, the British minister can hold no direct intercourse. He cannot utter one syllable of representation, nor write one word of remonstrance and the interpreters, in fact, explain it as we will, are the representatives of the British nation in Constanti nople. These interpreters belong to that inferior class of the Ottoman subjects who consider themselves as slaves. Their political condition is so vile, that we have not, in all the three kingdoms, any class of persons in the same degree of degra dation. But names are nothing in business, and we should consider the matter practically.

"It is true, that neither the grand signor, nor the grand vizier, will probably ever be so unpolite as to strike off the head of our principal interpreter, for presenting to him the sense only of any remonstrance which our Deliberative may have oocasiou to make; and also, it is true, that a man so highly trust. ed as the head of our Executive in Constantinople, may be so well rewarded, that the insolence of property will overcome the pusillani~ mity of slavery; all this may be true, but what is the fact? The principal interpreter, that is, the operative representative of the king, had not, till lately, the income of the ambassador's valet. To Mr. Adair the interpreters owe the improve. ment of their circumstances; and a motive is now furnished, in the emoluments, to students of our own nation, to aspire to the situation, if they be not, at present, systematically excluded.

DESCRIPTION

WE

E crossed the Mender by a wooden bridge, immediately after leaving Koum-kalé; and ascertained its breadth, in that part, to equal one hundred and thirty yards. We then entered an immense plain, in which some Turks were engaged hunting wild-boars. Peasants were also employed in ploughing a deep and rich soil of vegeta. ble earth. Proceeding towards the cast, and round the bay distinctly pointed out by Strabo, as the harbour in which the Grecian fleet was stationed, we arrived at the Sepulchre of Ajax, upon the antient Rhatean Promontory. Concerning this tumulus there is every reason to believe our information correct. If we had only the text of Strabo for our guidance, there would be little ground for incredulity; and, by the evidence afforded in a view of the monument itself, we have the best comment upon his accuracy. It is one of the most interesting objects to which the attention of the literary traveller can possibly be directed. Instead of the simple Stêlé, usually employed to decorate the summit of the most antient sepulchral mounds, all writers, who have mentioned the tomb of Ajax, relate, that it was surmounted by a shrine, in which a statue of the hero was preserved. Religious regard for this hallowed spot continued through so many ages, that even to the time in which Christianity decreed the destruction of the Pagan idols, the sanctity of the Aïanteum was maintained and venerated. Such importance was annexed to the inviolability of the monument, that after Antony had

carried into Egypt the consecrated image, it was again recovered by Augustus, and restored to its pristine shrine. These facts may possi→ bly serve to account for the present appearance of the tomb, on whose summit that shrine itself, and a considerable portion of the superstructure, remain unto this hour. Pliny, moreover, mentions the situation of the tomb as being in the very station of the Grecian fleet; and, by giving its exact distance from Sigeum, not only adds to our conviction of its identity, but marks at the same time, most decisively, the position of the Portus Achæorum. In all that remains of former ages, I know of nothing likely to affect the mind by emotions of local enthusiasm more powerfully than this most interesting tomb. It is impossible to view its sublime and simple form, without calling to mind the veneration so long paid to it; without picturing to the imagination a successive series of mariners, of kings and heroes, who from the Heilespont, or by the shores of Troas and Chersonesus, or on the sepulchre itself, poured forth the tribute of their homage; and finally, without representing to the mind the feelings of a native, or of a traveller, in those times, who, after viewing the existing monument, and witnessing the instances of public and of private regard so constantly bestowed upon it, should have been told the age was to arrive when the existence of Troy, and of the mighty dead entombed upon its plain, would be considered as having no foundation in truth.

"The

"The present appearance of the shrine, and of a small circular superstruction, do not seem to indicate higher antiquity than the age of the Romans. Some have believed, from the disclosure of the shrine, that the tomb itself was opened; mistaking it for a vault, although its situation near the summit might have controverted the opinion. This was perhaps constructed when Augustus restored the image Antony had taken from the Aïanteum. Á cement was certainly employed in the work; and the remains of it to this day offer an opportunity of confuting very prevailing error concerning the buildings of the antients. The Greeks erected many of their most stupendous edifices without cementation; hence it has been supposed that the appearance of mortar in a building precludes its claim to antiquity. This notion is however set aside at once by reference to the pyramids of Egypt: in building these, mortar was undoubtedly used.

"The view here afforded of the Hellespont and the Plain of Troy is one of the finest the country affords. Several plants, during the season of our visit, were blooming upon the soil. Upon the tomb itself we noticed the silvery mezereon, the poppy, the beardless hypecoum, and the field star of Bethlehem.

"From the Aïanteum we passed over a heathy country to Halil Elly, a village near the Thymbrius, in whose vicinity we had been instructed to seek the remains of a temple once sacred to the Thymbrean Apollo. The ruins we found were rather the remains of ten temples than of one. The earth to a very considerable extent was covered by subverted and broken columns of marble, granite, and of every order in architecture. Doric, Ionic, and

Corinthian capitals, lay dispersed in all directions, and some of these were of great beauty. We observed a bas-relief representing a person on horseback pursued by a winged figure; also a beautiful representation, sculptured after the same manner, of Ceres in her car drawn by two scaly serpents. Of three inscriptions which I copied among these ruins, the first was engraven upon the shaft of a marble pillar. This we removed, and brought to England. It is now in the vestibule of the public library at Cambridge; and commemorates the public services of a phrontistes of Drusus Cæsar. The names of persons belonging to the family of Germanicus occcur frequently among inscriptions found in and near Troas. Drucus, the son of Germanicus, was himself appointed to a government in the district. The second inscription has been once before printed, but most erroneously: it may therefore be again presented to the public, in a more accurate form. Whatsoever tends in any degree to illustrate the origin of the ruins in which it was discovered, will be considered interesting; although, after all, we must remain in a state of the greatest uncertainty with regard to the city alluded to in either of these documents. Possibly it may have been Scamandria ; but in the multitude of cities belonging to Troas, a mere conjecture, without any positive evidence, is less pardonable than silence. The inseription, offering our only remaining clue, sets forth, that the tribe Attalis commemorated Sextus Julius Festus, a magistrate of the city, and præfect of the Flavian cohort, who had been Gymnasiarch, and given magnificently and largely, to the senators and all citizens, oil and ointment for some public festival.

HAT