Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-05-08
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
NOTES OF TRAVEL IN THE OLD WORLD.
Wruen for he National LateRigenccr bya Citizen
Of Washington,
RAMBLEs ABOUT ooSsrANTINopLE,

thing through the spectacles of genius (sometues YER
large spectacles that magnify TO wonderful extent
sometimes common quzzng glasses highly coored ofte
very crooked glassed with bubbles in the centre tina
the bare idea Of Hare is enough set one off in costa
ces Who is there with spark of enthusiasm that cal
approach Constantinople for Che first time Without pal
pitang heart and thrilling anticipation of somethn,
extraordinary something to lift up the soul above th
earth TO realm Of hours; not that he can recall an,
particular passage in any thing he has read TO conure
such Visions but the of the whole bubblng NJ
through the memory, gives tone ones aspirations
for the beautiful All the fervid imagery Of Laa Roohk
the fascinating splendor Of Anasasus; the glowing elo
quence of Eothen fill the mind somehow or other with
extraordinary anticipations; gimmerng Of something
unearthy foreshadowing Of Paradise The Harem be-
chief in this Paradise and the perfumes
of flowers and the cooling spray Of fountains and all the
wtchey Of beauty and innocence reclining soft Persian
rugs involuntary crowd upon the mind Every yashack
is supposed to the features Of Gulbeyer Dudu
every grated window to shed light upon inner world Of
beauty the living and breathing realization Of that voup
tuous picture in Don something what bore it is to for
get names but you know that don't read Byron that
of the sleeping beauties Of the Harem where
cent madens dream of apples and bees and butterflies
and such things Never an unfortunate admirer of
the worked to such pitch of enthusiastic expec-
taton your friend Of the present writing 1t was
purely Patonic devotion to beauty of course The first
thought upon touching the romantic soil of STEAMBOAT
of yashaGehs, and dark flashing eyes, and forms of
gelc contour. For while thought seriously of
shutting my eyes the very first petticoat should des
cry fuerng in the breeze but eyes indispensable
where the hGa continually bringing their batterng
to bear ones head At last bevy of chaterng
damses doomed up in the distance bearing down toward
mo vbotv Tba If
would have been music to the coarse masculine sounds
that distracted my 1t the most barbarous COB
bling of gutterals have heard Black eyes there
were to be sure black enough all round underneath
which rather dirty sort of blackness The yash-
raaeks dropped accidentally, they generally do when
the observersa Frank and there Turks Every
vestge of enchanment vanished in moment There
not single passable face in the crowd The features
were coarse and sensual the teeth dsgustngly dark
the costume sovenly aud unbecoming As if conscience
smitten, after having exposed much beauty inde
eyes, they hastily drew the covering their mouths
leaving the upper part of the face partially visible and alto
gether denudng the breast After they had passed turn
ed TO different view in the faint hope of discovering
compromising attraction The case was now still worse
As they drew their loose coaks and gathered around
them sundry hghycoored and tawdry drapery the
of which it is impossible to remember their bare legs
glstened underneath, buried the ankle in yellow
sipshod boots and slippers and they waddled the
rough stones very much like parcel Of ducks making
such awkward attempts Of progress that quite dis
tressng to them. Surely the Turkish boots for fe
males must have been devised by clever fellow who
had in view the impossibity Of their running away in
them
woud be unfair perhaps, judge the whole from
these specimens; reserved my final Judgment until
IN.
have every variety that be beyond the
precincts of the Harem from the highest the lowest
and must confess that have very little change
my original impression. What there may be concealed
in cages and fed cakes and water and su
tered to be rudey kissed by the air that morals
breathe do not know from personal experience having
been in the domestic circle of Turk in my life
when The ladies were present; do anticipate the
pleasure soon, unless my friend Abdul MesrhId should
take it into his head to invite to fsily tea-pary
which is not likely Let it not be supposed however that
entertain any hostile feeling towards the ladies of Con-
stantinople There is occasionally pretty face to be
seen, young round do-baby thing that is very much
admired by the Turks; nice plump little toys, with
black eyebrows and thick ashes SOFT peachy cheeks
and the softest possible eZpression saw one on
the bridge near Gaata cnst quite struck tenderness
through me- She Vas about fifteen and as pretty
tuned as Turkish lady be without change Of fash
ION Dropping the white veil that covered her mouth
passed she gave me good opportunity Of admrng her
bewithins Natures and to be candid they very be-
~itchlng The form of her face was round, like full
moon her complexion Of The purest Transparency JUS
tinged with the hue Of health her nose small
round making very beautiful natural division between
her cheeks; her eyes-but here was the killing atrac
tion-they large and vide open, SO deeply beau
tfuy black 50 gazeeke In their innocence Of expires
sion or lack of expression SO indicative Of repose
soul, or inconsistencies Of soul; SO hedged aroun'
with black lashes and eyebrows, black paint tina
made the very darkness there more beautiful thar
light elsewhere; so liquid with natural tesr-drops
the glare Of the sun these these il that brough
the tenderness these, and the lips which wer'
parted with smile Of triumph, and looked If they hac
just been kissed by the breath Of a frosty morning o.
bathed IN twilight dews, sweetened with stick of
dy which she happened be sucking the moment anc
her form it round and SOFT and shook SO like je,
every step But it is entirely useless undertake de
scrpton Of her undulatng walk was the very poetry
motion rolling in her yellow boots gracefully as eve
rolled seventy -four in the trades MashAlla saw
that day.
The Armenian very much superior i
personal beauty TO any have seen in Consantinope
indeed to any Of the Oriental castles, not excepting Il
farfamed Crcassians The best specimens Of the lat
less in features and without that compactness and ella
ticty Of form which the civilized world has
to be essential in female beauty certain obesity
attractive to semi-barbarous people, is cultivated TO
lection in the Crcassiaps and the most highly admir-