The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1837-12-25
Extract from Miss Pardos's
CITY OF THE SULTAN.


fairs, had grandchild, whose indisposition
caused him the most lively uneasiness !; il was
in vain that his English physician assured
him Of the total absence Of danger his every
thought, his every anxiety, were with his
darling boy. In the midst Of the most press
ing public business, he would start up and
hasten to the chamber of the little patient,
to assure himself that every thing was going
on favorably; he would leave his friends, in
an hour of relaxation, TO sit beside the sick
bed Of the child and at length, when strict
and rigid system Of diet was prescribed, which
was to be Of fortnight's duration, he actual
ly submitted himself, and compelled all his
establishment TO submit, to the same monoto-
nous and scanty fare, lest the boy should ac-
cidentally see, or otherwise become conscious
of the presence Of any more enticing food,
for which he might pine, and thus increase
his malady.
II may be thought have cited an extreme
instance, but such is, in reality far from being
the case indeed, to such pitch do the Os-
manils carry their love for children, that they
are constantly adopting those Of others, whom
they emphatically denominate children Of
the son." They generally take them into
their families when mere infants; rear them
with the most extreme care and tenderness !;
and finally portion them on their marriage, as
though the claim were a natural. rather than
gratuitous one. The adopted child Of Tur-
key is not like the protege Of Europe, the
plaything of saloon, and ultimately too often
the victim of whim the act Of adoption is
with the Turks solemn obligation; and po-
verty and privation would alike fail to weary
them of well doing, where their affections as
well as their words were pledged.
An equally beautiful feature in the charac-
ter Of the Turks is their reverence and respect
for the author of their being. Their wives
advise and reprimand unheeded-their words
are 6osh-nothing but the mother is an ora
Gle; she is consulted, confded in, listened to
with respect and Difference, honored in her
latest hour, and remembered with affection
and regret beyond the grave. "My wives
die, and can replace them" says the Osma-
nils, " my children perish, and others may be
born to me-but who shall restore to me the
mother who has passed away, and who is no
more 7"
These are strong traits-beautifnl develope-
ments Of human nature and, if such be in
deed the social attributes Of barbarism," then
may civilized Europe, amid her pride of sci
ence and her superiority of knowledge, con-
fess that herein at least she is mated by the
less highly gifted Mussulmans.
The philosophy and kindly feeling of the
Turk is carried beyond the grave. He looks
upon death calmly, and without repugnance
he does not connect it with ideas of gloom
and horror, as we are too prone to do in Eu-
rope; he spreads his burial places in the sun
NEST spots-on the crests of the laughing
hills, where they are bathed in the light of
the blue sky--beside the crowded thorough
fares of the city, where the dead are, as it
were, once mingled with the living-in the
green hooks that stretch down to the Bospho-
rus, wherein more selfish spirits would have
erected vile, or have planted vineyard.
He identifies himself with the generation
which has passed away-he is ready to yield
his place to that which is to succeed his
own. ~.
Nor must omit to remark on the devout
and unaffected religious feeling that exists, in
Turkey not only among the Mussulmans, who,
however imperative may be their avocations,
never neglect to pray five times during the
day 4; but equally among the Greeks and
Armenians, who's. fasts are so severe, that
those Of the Roman catholics are comparative
y feasts If you meet Turk and inquire
after his health, he replies, /" Shukiur Allah
Praise be to God, am WELL" Every thing
is referred to the great first cause. There is
none Of that naughty self-dependence, that
over-weening morgue, SO strongly marked in
Europeans. Among men, the Osmanli con-
siders himself the frst-but only among men
when he puts off his slippers at the door Of the
mosque, he carries no pomp with him into the
presence of his God. The luxuriant inhabit-
ant of the east, who in his own salemhek is
wont to recline on cushions, and to be served
by officious slaves, does not pass in the house
of God to tenant crimson-lined and we'll
warded pew, and to listen to the words of in
SEPARATION beside comfortable stove, in dreamy
indifference he takes his place among the
crowd the boy near the charcoal vender he
is but one item among many; he arrogates to
himself no honor in the temple where all men
are as one common family; and he insults
not the divine majesty by Bonded knee and
stubborn brow.
That the generality Of the Turks hold every
Frank in supreme contempt, admits Of no
doubt; and could they, TO use their own phrase,
"make our fathers and mothers eat dirt" |
am afraid thatour respectable ancestors would
never again enjoy a comfortable meal; but
this feeling on their part is rather amusing
than offensive, and only enhances the merit
of their politeness when they show courtesy
to the stranger and the Giaour
If, as we are all prone to believe, freedom
be happiness, then are the Turkish women
the happiest, for they are certainly the treest
individuals in the empire. II is the fashion
in Europe to pity the women in the East but
it is ignorance Of their real position alone
which can engender so misplaced an exhibit
ton Of sentiment. have already stated that
they are permitted 10 expostulate to urge even