The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-25 00:00:00

ciety, and Professor James Forbes) occupant of the
Natural Philosophy Chair in the University
of Edinburgh ; Dr. Ami Boue of Viemna
and Dr. Heinrich Berghaus of ;Berlin ; the
Astronomical Professor in the Univert iity of Glas-
gow, and the Natural History Profet3sor: in the
University of Aberdeen ; these and ,with them
several others not less gifted each itt his own
peculiar department, have participated with the
laborious Originator of the enterprise in The glory
of conducting it to its present eminently suOcleseful
completion. The Physical Atlas, under' their
united conduct, embracing " eleven " largen,lnalls
under the section of geology, and "tw elTe)
under that of Natural History ; "six" plates illus-
trating the section of Hydrography, and. "six" that
of Meteorology. Such, in brief, is the Athos of
Natural _Phenomena, recently issued from the
press by the Messrs. Blackwood a publication
not unworthy of the Epoch in which it has been
produced, the Age in which this Earth has seat
knowledge the most widely diffused and the most
sedulously cultivated, the Age of the Steam-engine
and of the Electric Telegraph.

MARSHAL PELISSIER AT CONSTAN-

TIN 0 PLE.

A letter from Therapia of the 14th, ie. the
Moniteur, gives some curious details of Marshal
Pelissier's sojourn at Constantinople ;
"The Sultan, in order to gratify the Marshxl, bad
been graciously
,pleased to order Mehemed Bey, the
intendant of the palace of Top Kapon, to conduct that
Officer through the room containing the treasures of the
crown and the different kiosks erected by his Mejesty'a
ancestors within, the circuit of the seraglio. On the
morning of the 10th, the French Ambassador, the Mar-
shal, Vice-Admiral Treheuart, and the persons who
accompanied them, proceeded in State carriages to the
seraglio, 'where Mehemed Bey bad prepared for thep si
splendid breakfast. Theyafter wards were conducted to the
kiosk of Bagdad, a most beautiful construction, built by
Sultan Amurath IV., and situated on the highest point
of the seraglio. It is impossible to behold anything
more admirable than this construction. It is lined inside
and out with slabs of porcelain, known by the name of
Kiachi, and the finest kind of which was formerly
made at Kuchan in Persia. All the doors, shutters,
and panels are of cypress-wood, incrusted with to r-
toiseshell, ivory, and mother-of-pearl in beautiful pet-
terns. The ceiling of the cupola is covered with de-
,i4ns in gold on a vermillion ground, the colour of
which is still as fresh and bright as ever. When ;the
visitors had sufficiently admired this wondentul
construction, Mehemed Bey conducted them to tl ie
private treasury of the Sultan. Until late yeal'q
the riches accumulated by the Ottoman sovereigns well
deposited in coffe, s ranted in cellars of Byzantine con-
struction. But, in the prevision of a visit from the Dn.".
peror of the French, the Sultan last year gave orders to
have a room prepared and arranged with the objects'
worthy of being shows to his august ally. The inten-
tion of the Sultan was in part carried out, and owing to
the exertions of Mehemed Bey a portion of the wonders
which the Ottoman treasury contains can be viewed by
the persons specially permitted to visit them. Pl*
visitor's attention is first attracted by the throne of
Kei Kaous, Sultan of Koniah in 1245, which was
formerly surrounded by hangings embroidered with
pearls andemeralds, now bung up in glass cases. Thil
seat, in solid silver, is covered over with enamelled de-
signs of the greatest beauty, representing the thrones
add- ornaments of the Kings of Persia in the olden time-,
This urrounded in every part with cloth of gold, and the
en:ibid.-6s are of crimson velvet, embroidered with pearls
and precieus stones. Close to it are to be seen the shield
and sabre which Sultan Amurath wore when he niade •
his triumphal entry into Constantinople after his Pereian
expedition. These arms are dazzling with diamoo de.
By their aide is the precious box which contained. t;he
Koran, and which the Sultan Suleyman carried with
him (luring bis campaigns. The lid is covered,
with jewels of price, amongst which is a tur-
quoise in the shape of an almond of immense
size. To the end of the cord which served to suspend
this box is fixed an emerald as large as a hen's egg. In
another part of the room are arranged the aigrettes
which the Sultans formerly wore in their turbans on.
days of ceremony. The emeralds, rubies, and diamonds
collected together in these ornaments are of a size and'
brilliancy to excite wonder; and it may be safely predi-
cated that Western Europe can boast of few jewels to be
compared to these banded down by the ancient sultans.
I will not dwell on the beautiful objects in some
other rooms, but nothing can surpass the beauty
and exquisite finish of the cups of jade, the arms in-
laid with jewels, ancient stuffs stiff with gold and
silver, China vases, and a most curious collection
timepieces of the 17th century, sent as presents from
the sovereigns of Europe. The inspection of the Im-
perial tr asury being terminated, the visitors were eon-
dectel to the library, erected by Suiton Ahmed, which
contains a collection of Eastern manuscripts, such as
cannot be found elsewhere ; and lastly, they visited the
old throne room, the canopy and chimney-piece of which
are covered with silver plates, beautifully enamelled and
inlaid with agates, garnets, and turquoises. A. theatrical
performance followed ; at the conc'usiOn of which the
Marshal and his party proceeded to the Porte, and in-
spected a body of troops drawn up on the vast esplanade
of the Seraskierate. Everywhere the 'Marshal was the
observed of all observers."