Democratic banner., 1851-02-03
his ability he is not able to keep more atoel
than he can keep well. aa r.
CUSTOMS on THE TURKS.

IOODSbdHtIuOpIe,d anu WIN tCCOIipdhsu AniIh
Bey, has published in the Scioto Gazette
some interesting papers. upon the habits
and customs of the Turks. From one of
them we copy she following:
| The higher clsssss of the Ottomans or
Turks of Constantinople; are very refined
in their manness and habits. They ere
very gentle and mild 10 disposition, and
differ very much fromthe idea generally
had of this and many other countries. Their
education cannot be called a very good one;
they have but few works ON modern science,
and none of the histories ofother countries
Beyond history of katharine H., of Russia,
and another of Bonapart at ST. Helena,
there are none, in their own langusge. on
any of the sovereigns or governmets of Eu
rope. OfAmerica, they possess one called
the Tradition Of new name, or the "Dis-
covery of the Western Ind" It contains
much that is fabulous; drawn from the ear
lier accounts Of the imagined condition Of
the discovered sind" of Columbus ard his
companions II deprives Columbus OF much
Of the merit which is generally allowed him |;
and assert that he but followed the route
pointed out to him by an sdventerous Cap.
tain whom he had found at the Canary Is
lands. 1t has many reports about mermaids
and other fabulous beings, and also describes
several kinds Of fruits which, unfortunately
are not now, at least, 10 be found in any
known part Of America. Within. late years
some small biographies have been translat-
ed into Turkish from French, for the use Of
public schools now being established BY the
present Sultan. They possess some excel
lent works on mathematics, and always ex-
celled in the science Of figures; and many
grammers and dictionaries exist in Turkish,
| Of Arabic and Persian. As the Turkish,
language alone is very poor one, large ad-
ditions have been made to it from the Arabic
and the Persian, and il is these which form
the Ottoman tongue. The Turks and Rer
SLAMS use the alphabet Of the Arabs, and like
them write from right to left; but whilst the
Arabian numerals are still used in Arabia
and Africa as well az all over Europe, the
Turks have set OF figures of their own, dis
tinct end peculiar. All eastern people, ex-
cspt the Chinese. write with,a reed; the
latter use brush, and write from the top
to the bottom Of the paper.
Most Oriental people resemble each o.
theT in their social and domestic habits
Children of the two sexas only associate
together until the sgs Of eight or ten years,
when the female assumes the veil prescrib-
ed by their Prophet for conceslment from
the males. Upto that age they associate
with each other at school; brothers and
sisters freely associate with their cousins
Of either sex, but with no more distant con-
nexions. Brothers may see the faces Of
brothers, wives or slaves, and those oftheir
parents; but not those of any not nearly con-
nected with them. A Mussulmap is sllow-
ed, by his religion, TO have four wives, and
to divorce them when he plesses. He can.
not take back wife divorced the third time;
she can then BECOME united in marriage to
another husband, etc, and in turn is divor-
oed by him. An humorous tale on this sub
ject is related in Mr.. Browns "Turkish
Evening Entertainments" under the head
Of a "Story of Sultan Hassaln Bikra," to
which We refer the reader. He may have
as many female slaves concubines1 as his
purse will allow; and he has entire power
over their persons as we'll as their labor
These, as well as other slaves become free
after or years Of servitude, following in
this respect, the Mosaic law. All white
female slaves are free who may bear child
to their master; and all children thus born
of slaves are free and Legitimate, and have
the same right to the pstrimony Of their fa-
theirs as the offspring Of the free married
wife. Divorces are rare among the higher
classes Of Mpssulmen; they are considered
disreputable, and only now occur among
the ignorant and ill-bread Few Mussul-
men have more than one wife, both on sc-
count of the expenss required to keep mp
different establishments for each wife, and
of the quarrels to which feelings ofjealOus-
ly give rise among them. Few also intro
duGe female slaves into their hsrems fe-
male apartments for the same reason; and
thus, though poIygamy is legal among tine
Turks, the inoonvisnce attending it pre-.
vents its use. ...'...