Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-12-21

representatives OF almost all NATIONS Win
the eonquefing 1Ioslems came the wild
tribes nom the sides Of Ararat in Armenia,
and from other remote places, and the city
was PeOPled with naked race. -., ai.g
He would endsaEor 10 lay before bis hear
efs few salientPOin Of the city of Con-
stahiine, the ancient Byzantiun, and in 3
latter day tho scene Of the triumph Of Ma
homet II. On arriving near the city, the
aPPearance Of the harbOr, studded with q
forest Of msstss is very striking Discon-
tented travellers say that the picturesque fea-
lures Of the city disappear, that the illusion
Is lost, 30 soon as the tourist lands; but this
is not the case. It is true, there are no
splendid hetels in Constantinople as in Eng
land and America, for hospitality reigns
throughout the East, and the stranger is
generally entertained ct the house of his
friend. Europeans have, it is true, estab-
lished hotels in Pera, which is the European
quarter, but the Moslem parts, which en-
brace the principal streets and squares, are
destitute Of these institutions. It is true
that the landing place is not calculated 10
give the traveller favorable impressions, for
the platform, like all other platforms, civil
and political, Is constantly out Of repair
Laughter and applsusel and besides this
drawback, the traveller is bewildered with
the yelling and screaming Of boatmen and
carriage drivers, the barking Of dogs, and
other discOrdant sounds, 50 tha. it is not to
be wondered at if the Saxon stranger should
use the strongest terms that the English
language affords in giving expression to his
feelings of disgust. There ars no public
lamps in COnstantinople, and the passen-
gers through the streets at night carry Ian
terms, such as he held in his hand, and the
glancing and glittering Of ten thousand
lights Of this kind in every part Of the city,
have most singular effect. 81
The Asiatic races bear no analogy with
Europeans, the scenes before the traveller in
Constantinople are patriarchal, the yelled
female, the turbaned men, the fitting Ian
terms, &C., appear strange and marvellous,
and the Saxon stranger stands amazed at
what he beholds, his surprise being height
sned by the Babel of voices which assails
his ears, for in no city in the world are there
so many different languages spoken, and
within the limits Of the city may be heard
nearly all the tongues Of Europe and Asia
English, French, Turkish. Greek, SlaFonic,
Circassian, Mingrelian, Georgian, &c. It is
natural to suppose that in city where so
many different languages are used, ludicrOus
mistakes viii sometimes occur, and he has
frequently been witness to curious scenes,
one Of which he would relate. A party Of
Frenchmen wanting to hire a carriage, and
requiring to have it at their house at a GER
tain hour, and being unable to make them
selves understood by language, one of them
had to resort to sign, and taking out watch
pointed to five o'clock, the hour appointed
for the commencement of their journey
The Turk not being able to =aOoiPher the
figures on the watch, the Frenchman with
shrug Of impatience cried out einqEe,srs now
it unfortunately happened that this word,
which in French means IS o'clock" has
quite different Specification in the Turkish
language, being the term used to express the
English curse I'd your eyes," an insult,
which the carriage driver resented with
similar denunoiation, and went away in dis
gust. a
Instead of following in the footsteps Of
Cicerone and UaIsts de place, the usual plan
adopted by tourists, he would endeavor to
give general description of the city and
its inhabitants. The costume in which he
appeared on this occasion was that of the
artizans, &C., the dress of Turkish gentle
man of the present day being similar to that
of an American, with the exception Of the
Fez cap. When he accompanied the Turk
ish Ambassador to Washington, he made
preparations to attend the ball on that occa-
sion in this dress, but the Paeha remon-
strated, asking how was it possible he would
disgrace himself by appearing in the garb
of the working classes7 and saying that he
would not be received in such a dress, but
his Highness was disappointed when he
(Ir. oscanyan) attracted more attention
than himself, the Ambassador being clothed
in the ordinary dress Of an American or
Turkish gentleman. .
He explained the reason why the Turks
carry arms. When they came into Europe
as conquerOrs, they were obliged to carry
arms in order to defend themselves against
the vengeance Of the people whom they had
subdued, while the latter were not allowed
the use OF arms. The custom has been con-
tinusd until the present day, although they
must not suppose that every man in Turkey
went so fully armed that he might be mis-
taken for member of Congress, CIaughter)
yet it was the mark Of superiority and the
privilege of the eonqueror.
As we land in Cnnstantinople, we see
grOOms leading richly caparisOned Arabian
horses, and equipages of an oriental charac-
ter. The Capi or Porte, which, in the Turk
ish language, denotes power, is not far from
the landing, and is very large building,
painted yellow, and surrounded by high
wall This palace is named from the Porte
or gato of the far-famed seraghlio, from
which 80 many beautiful ladies have sud
denly disappeared, like stars from the sky.
The lecturer then minutely described some
of the public buildings O cOnstantinoPle,
chanted the Muezzin's call to prayer, which
is heard from the Minarsts at certain hours
every day-gave an interesting description
of the rites and ceremonies Of the Mahome-
dan religion, and of the system Of instEue-.
tion carried on in the schools. His descrip-
ton of the bazaars or markets of Constanti-
nOple was very entertaining.
.The lecture was listened to throughout
=, +he closest attention. The next lee
VIII WIN - IRE the Library Association will be
IlIs, SuIe Delt N Thursday evening next, at the
9slIvsleo 9SlIsS Rev. ]. @. Fletcher, Of New
LIlelOoeon' % The subject of the lecture
;i; DGTy Il yPOf1, mass. Il, the Hope Of Italy"