The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1845-01-08


shores Of the Mediterranean are the scene Of all
that can ever interest man-his religion, his
knowledge, his artsh-in sense wider probably
than thal intended by its author, who referred
principally 10 their attractions aud importance
TO the student and traveller, rather than TO the
central interest which they possess for the
slatesman-to nations as existing, and affecting
each other, in their foreign RELATIONSHIPS vast
communities moving by moral forces as well as
by physical power. The Moroccan war is the
latest phass Of this central interested this in
tensily OF national feeling directed TO a territory
which is SO situated that grand movements up
on il exert a vibratory influence on all the ma
lions Of the old world.
In looking prospectvey at events of extreme
probability III relation to the Turkish Empire,
we may expect the British press TO assume a
tone, in relation to action on It's regions, calcu-
lated to nourish a passion for military achieve
ment in that direction. Many Of them will
hallow with images Of glory, aud halo Of du-
~, the exploits Of the Crusades, and indicate
as parallel the sIIfe which will come upon
the same ground for changing the Moslem to
Christian authorities. The final ground, howe
yer, and the necessary one on which the naval
and military operations of Great Britain and
Russia, and Of whatever allies they may wish
to enlist, or succeed in substituting, for their
purposes in those countries, must be the preser-
walton Of peace and the balance of power.
L., ~ r l. -
last, we have a specimen of the style Of pane
gyrie with which those are TO be honored who
shall-ln military or naval conflicts on the land
or sea of these regions-distingush themselves
in carrying into effect the plans Of national pol
icy for which nayies and armies will be then
employed. The eulogies bestowed on them
will be such as have already been given TO the
knights of the CIusades, as well as some other
panegyrics more appropriate and better founded
than any which can be applied TO the unhoIy
wars of the Crusaders. Not that we doubtIhere
were generous spirits, noble purposes, in many
persons attached 10 those wars bat we cannot
so characterize the spirit and views of them in
general. In an article entitled La MARITIME,
written with great spirit and elegance, a writer
in Blackwood bestows on the Crusaders a
praise in which we can by no means concur
However just the character he draws Of the
several travellers noticed in his sketches, the
foundation for lauding the warriors who follow
ed Peter the Hermit, Richard Plantagenet and
other enthusiasts and formidable knights, is
one of sand. From Humboldt and Chateau.
BRAND, he proceeds to Michaud, and of him
thus discusses
"a He seeks to transport us to the days of Godfrey
Of Bouillon and Raymond of Toulouse; he thrsts
with the Christianthos at Dorslaus; he shares with
his anxleties at the siege of Antioch he participates
in it, exultation at the storming of jerusalem The
visited by the vast multitude of warriors who,
during two hundred years, were precpita,ed from
Europe Asia, have almost all been visited by him.
and described with the accuracy OF antquary and
the enthusiasm Of a poet. With the old Chronicle IN
his hand he teads with veneratioB the of for
mer generous sacrifice and heroic achievements and
the vast and massy structures erected either side
during those terrible wars-when, for centuries Eu-
rope strove hand to hand with Asia-most of which
have undergone very little alteration-enable him to
describe them almost exactly as they appeared to
the holy warriors. The interest Of his pilgrimage in
the East, accordingly is peculiar, but very great; it
is not much book Of travels as moving Chroni-
Gle but like Sir Walter SCOTS Minstreiy of The Bor
ders it is chronicle clothed in a very different garb
from the honely dress Of the oldsn time. 1t trans
ports back, not only in time but in idea six hun
dred years; but it does with the grace of modern
times. 1t clothes the profound feelings, the gene
sacrifices, the forgetulness Of SELF of the 18th
century, with the poetic mind the cultivated taste,
the refined imagery, of me 18th"
King William said, as he looked out upon
the green and rich fields of Ireland, when he was
advancing TO the battle of the Boyne, this is
kingdom worth fighting for" 1t may be ex-
pected, when the time of inevitable division
will come, that the crowned heads of Europe
will think the same Of the Turkish Empire
The whole area of Ireland is fraction over
10000 square miles, with natural advantages
not greater than each 10000 square miles Of
Turkey. The whole area of Turkey in Europe
and Asia is 200 square miles at least some
make it 59S,00O square miles; at the lowest
computation more than eighteen times the num-
Der Of square miles in Ireland.
The scenery and natural productions of the
country have often been the theme OF the admi-
ration of travellers. Constantnope and the
adjacent shores have been frequently described,
but according to the probably correct judgment,
of the Review we have mentioned-never so
well as by La Marine We introduce part of
it below, with the PREDATORY remarks of the
reviewer
The Dardanelles and the Bospborus have, from
the dawn of letters exercised the descriptive talents
of he ~ fnr,n, Of
truthful chronicle of Viehardoun and the eloquent
pictures of Gibbon and Sismondi Of the seige of
Constantinople, will Immediately occur to every
scholar. The following passage, however, will
show that no subject can be worn out, when it is
handled by the pen Of genius.
1T was five in the morning. | was standing on
deck; we made sail towards The mouth Of the Bos
phorus, skirting the walls of donstantinope After
half an hours navigation through ships at anchor we
touched the walls Of the Setago, which prolong
those OF the city, and form, " the extremity of the
hill which supports the proud Stamboul, the angle