The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-10-30 00:00:00

GERMAN PAPERS.

VtENVIA. REIPT. IC.
The Austrian Observer contains the following account of the late
engagement between the Greeks and the Turks a--
CONSTANTINOPLE, &CPT. 29.
Several Tartars.who arrived here on the 23.1, brought a confirma-
tion of the news already received from Smyroa of an engagement,
(0 the 9th, 10th, and 11th. between a division of the Constantinopl
tieg, under the c•onmand of the Patronn Bey, and the Greek
squadron, under Minutia and Sachtury, near Mitylene, In which
the Greeks were defeated. Then Tartars were despatched by the
Capitan Pacha from Phoksa (on the Asiatic coast, at the entrance
of the Gulf of Smyrna), where the Admiral has been ever since the
4th instant, to repair his ship.. The Greeks lost but three fire-
ships, which burnt withont effect, a three-masted ship, which sunk,
and had six brigs much damaged. They sent these, with part of
their squadron, to N'athi, in Samos, retreated to Ipsara, and have
since only had a few vessels crui•ing between that island and the
Golf of Smyrna. Of the first division of the fleet of Constantinople,
there are constantly six in the Gulf of Lepanto, and 19 In the port
of Navarino, a few of which sometimes cruise as far as the coast of
Mains. The first six, commanded br Sali Bey, are at the disposal
of Redechid 'lochs and the other 19, under the Capitan Bey, at
the disposal of Ibrahim Pacha.
According to the latent accounts from Alexandria, of the 25th
August. the Egyptian fleet arc still at anchor there, and it was
doubted, as the equinox was approaching, whether it could put to
sea before the middle of October.
Ibrahim Paella. by the latest accotants, had will preceded to
the South, against Maine, and is said to have advanced, at the let.
ter end of August, as far as filarathonsol. ills chief force acme
to he collected between 31istra and 'Melees's.
Bcdschid Pacha, after the victory at Athens on the 20th Augtott,
had advanced to the D.:rvenochorbt (villages in the defiles), and en-
camped near itlegara. while Omer Paella continued the siege of the
Atropoli..
%%EN OCT. 16.—Metalliques, 90i Bank Shares, 1.077.
.1' en Zeitang, Oct. 21.

TURKEY.

[EXTRACT OF A PRIVATE LETTER.]

COUSTANTINOPLE.SEPT. 11.
Don't allow your fens to get the better of your good sense; we
(the English) are under the care of a mast efficient Minister,
Mr. Canning; and though he may have been compelled to
tee strong language to this Government regarding Greece, and
other matters, yet I ant well assured all will go well ; and English
di/oat:They will, I trust, make the Turks aware of their own duty
towards England in particular, and Christians In general. The
Turks require frequently to have their eyes opened to their duty
and inferiority; and Etteland and Russia are row giving them a
geod schooling, which they must, however reluctantly, submit to
Ili:edit. It is eappneed the conferences at A kermann will terminate
eivisfactorily to the Russians. Tl:ueugh the conduct of the Greeks
is not so persevering and enterprising as one could wish, yet I trust,
by one means or other, their cause will not fell to the grourd.
I dor't think the spitan Pacha will be able to do any thing
against Samos. Before titian...miles you the papers may have given
you some atreeurn of the &fatted conflagration which took place
here on the 31st alt. and Ist inst. To how many dread cata-
strophe% is this devoted cone exposed! Nl'llen lat titres reflect
on what its inhabitants undergo, I cannot but say in my mind,
Why is their fate an mach harder than my own ?" I allude
mere particularly, theugh not exclusively, to the Christian papule-
tioa ; yet, in this country. peoele Lear up against misfortune with
a fortitude thct is quite astonishing. But this is the character of
a Mussohnan ; and it is from their example that Christians
and others have acquired somewhat of the sane philosophy.
The misery produced by a visitation like the one I have Just wit-
r.tosol, as well as by the events of the late overthrow of the Janis-
reries, must undoubtedly be very great, and yet it strikes me so
much is not suTered in the aggregate as by the starring operatives
in a large manufacturing town like 3linchester, the absolute
if life are so much cheaper here. The value of a penny
will boy a pound of common bread, and a few genres, or dateo or
onion*, or a little cheer, to season it ; and fur drink, a draught of
UAW is all a man in this country looks far. Grapes now sell for
about I}el. for 21b. 4.5 t :s ; a good teeter melon Id. or lid.; muek
metro, Id. or besides the reasonableness of the price of food,
no Turk will ranee coy poor man a enossel suj asks for it at tOs
kitchen; Pnul In the kitchens of the rich, lsagb quantities of feed
are daily preoarod for the relief 44 the eliaertmode— Then airewoma-
what tffee-tidieg pants in the character of a alusaulman; but
diver. The tire first appeared about half-past seven in the
morteng of the Slat ult., the wired being fresh at north-east.
I must refer you to the pm:or:yea* to find out the spot of its
commeneement. which was in a baker's: shop (that is, a baker of a
small hoop-shaped cake, much eaten here). The site of the shop
was • little to the tight of the Porte, which in plate 1 is No. 5, and
also a little nearer to the water's edge. You will observe that the
wind would blow directly on the hill. When I first saw the lire,
a little after nine, it was burning with great fury, and a large
space was fast consuming. Though I conceived it was a dangerous
lite, yet I was by. no means prepared to see the dreadful destruction
it had caused: us most rapid progress was up the bill between II
and 12 o'cleck. The pillar, or potphyry column, of Constantine,
No. 7, as well as the mosque of Oemond, No. 8, were surrounded
by the Aimee; the tops of three of the minarets of the latter soon
took fire. At this time, all command of the destructive element
seemed lost, and it raged with a fury indescribable to those who
have never witneseed such a spectacle. On the other side, its course
was towards the Seraglio wall, and it consumed every thing before
it up to the wall. leaving oGly a little corner above the Green
Kiosk, No. 2, whilst towards the Porte it reached the sea wall, and
in one instar.ce get over and destroyed an amber (Government
werehouse). The direction it tow took was skirting the wall of
the Seraglio ; at one time, when looking on, I thought one of the
cyprees-trocs had caught fire Inside the gardens of the Seraglio;
the fire was completely under them, and only kept out by the wall.
It climbed up the lath and passed to the other side; its ravages
soutd now only be traced by us from the vast volumes of smoke
which mingled with the clouds shove, or an occasional glare of
flame about the centre; howevet, the whole side of the hill towards
us was one mass of fire; and as the smoke blew oft* we perceived
the immense range of buildings, the ‘'izier's Palace, or what is
brown by the name of the Porte, No. 5, to have caught fire, and a
very few hours reduced that enormous pile to a heap of ashes.
Nothing now stood before the flume; and the whole space of
ground (ahem half a mile) front the Seraglio wall on the cast, the
ewer on die mouth, and passing to the west of the mosque of
Achruet, No. 4. was completely devastated.
I lave now described the work of destruction which came under
err own observation, being on this side of the hill ; the brow of
which having crossed the fire, it continued he course forwards for
.bout the saute width till it burnt out in the sea of Marmora. hav-
ing lid waste, in space, at least ace twelfth the city ; and this
cutest. eontairs nearly all the konnks and palaces of the Ministers
M Mate and wealthy men, of which ninety were burnt, besides
ferry-one stone khans Gorge buildings contaloing shops and ware-
bosoms). One uf them, Vialr Khan. contained two hundred odues
(suites of coontirg-houses and warehouses); only two out of the
',We =aped. and an immense quantity of valuables were lost in
Mese and other similar buildings ; they had been considered fire.
purl, and much property had been curled to them so places 01
tine". Many of the khans had settle slight wooden coffee-houses
to tleir open courts in the return. and some of the rooms had
wooden floors: though all were provided with iron doors and shut-
ters, as is universally tl:e case with magazipes for goods in tit's
country, the centignous fire made them red hot, and the flames
conmuoicated to the buildings. The enormous pile of Rouyak
Yeti Khan, N 0.9. was skirted at its upper end by the tire, but
rot inured. Besides all this, several thousand shops apart are de-
"TnYell, and the entire number of selwelling.houees is estimated
tram melee to twenty-five thousand ! Knowing that exaggermion
eenually gives toe large an estitnate, I should place the number
even lower titan the lowest, and call it ten thousand, about the
stee number that was burnt at Tophana, about three years ago ;
but, in mint of amount, this fire is emit:need to have deotroyed ten
ernes the value that was destroyed by the fire in Tophane.
The inaliklirgs of the Porte, though of wood, are of such gigan.
tie dimensiore that they must have cost some ntiliiors of piastres.
Dolt:mit qt:ite a national ore, sod will, doubtless, hum the nutn-
hez of dealers who have suffered, have a considerable effect on
trade; some European merchants may evermally surer by failures,
in consequence of the fire, but it will have little or no eflect on the
English trade, out dealers having eeraped with a very trifling loss,
tast of their shop., they having luckily got their contents of mane-
ticlorn elti; I Allude to the English generally. who may thus be
oinsidered very fortunate. To add to all this affliction, the lost of
Lfe has been vey 7trat. In Vizier Khan, fifty unfortunate beings
tuielitd! and a greater number of white awl black slaves in the
slue market, amt, :ghat whom the Flamm Ited alien ty committed
tireadfaltavamo, betides many others in differeet piano; thus have
really 200 of our fellow-creatures been cut off in this epenlling
manner. To name a sum as the total of the loss wobld be to hazel d
ice opinfoo on very vague ground.. I have heard ten millions
oraling nomad, but that is beyond bound ; ore ounrter of that sum
;Hay be nearer correct. and one-third perhaps yet nearer; but 1
Uwe rot give it as at all a sure tolculatlon; it is possible, indeed.
amount to murk none, but I should think It could not exceed
hoe million notoot. sterling.—an er,ormous SUM ! The fire burned
hnure, till non of toe Ist ; during the night, the spectacle was
ireelly grind in the extreme ; but when It was burning with its
mated Nev. it was on the opposite side of the hill to us, and the
entrodiate fire thus partly bidden, but the whole Heavens above
+Kw:wed as it were is mass of flame ; the smoke was also of *ruddy
hue ; you may fern* to ynur imagination such a sight, hut I can.
ret descrifte it. The standard of the Fai•h was removed from the
le.raglio to its former place of 'comity, within the Scogelio, having
hen exposed within it. walls on the day preceding the bre, at which
iet.e the encampment broke up."
• The genthensn to whom the letter is addressed Ins a prima-
view of Coastantir.ollei