New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-03-19
DEMIR-KHAN.

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DEMIR.KHAN.
This is the title of a famous mad house in Con-
stantinople. 1t is q government institution, under
the superintendent of an Italian physician, named
Tricoupi: and, although much behind the lnnatic
asylums of christian countries in arrangement and
treatment, il nevertheless, an institution,
strong evidence Of the march Of modern ciyiliza-
ton and its gradual influence in modifying the
character and public institutions of the Turks in
Europe AEuropean traveller, who visited it lately,
IN company with a celebrated physician named
Legoff, attached to the Russian embassy, gives the
following graphic account of its interior and prin-
cipal inmates:
We entered the large courtyard of the Demir-
Khan. in the centre Of which stood plane-tree
and covered fountain. Round this quadrangle ran
dirty paved cloister, upon which opened the !
doors OF small cells on one side, and on the other
the doors of general dormitories and the bath |
rooms From these little huts, listessiy-from the
| bars Of the windows, fereely-from idle groups
souatting with their backs to the wall, torpidly-
! everywhere madmens faces met ours. Doing
nothing, said Legof, with sigh: !" no amuse-
ment; no occupation nothing 70 remove ne stfain'
jected ali the rest.n
Tricoupi took the bright view Of things, and pat
ted a ferocieuslookng Hercules of q Turk we were
passing, on the back. !" You see,n he said, g the
4 religion of my poor invalids makes them patient.
Para vans are much less rare than with You in
Europe. Chisnet,' lit is decreed1 they say and
resign themselves to letters and the shower pain;
Suddenly Tricoupi, waving aside the pale abb
lsorbed looking men who paced up and down the
cloister regardless of our presence, or listening
eagerly but vacantly to Legoffs general groans az
]. open the door of small cell. We looked in, and
saw sitting on small, poor pallet in little white
washed cabin Of a room, tall, stifnecked, gen
tlemanly man, Of some forty years od. Als W neaa
great lustre to his dark black moustaehe and thick
curling beard, and even to his serious deep-sunk
eyes, that were fixed on US pitifully yet irratlon-
ally. Tricoupi asked after his health, and he re-
| turned some restless, complaining, irrelevant an
That said Trcoupi turning to us, and lectur-
g ing upon the man as il he were waxWork ngures'
! "a Il 4 Persian gentleman, whose mind became a..
il ficted from some decay of his circumstances. LAST
i week, being forbidden tobacco BY his doctor, ne
cut his throat in bed leaving on the table lettel
stating that he had done the deed himself FEARING
| his servant might be accused Of the crime e AZ
he smoke, the Persian gentleman bent his neck 4
Is stiy, as If guessing the purpose Of our CONVEX
= sation. ..s
ii. moment before row of men squatting along tn
to foot of the wall, to point out to us Nnpla
black, with thin, sad face-the face Of mad Pu
rtan: SO wrapt and interpretive were his eyer
. SO regardless and forgetfnl Of earth. he was
an olive black, his lips were dark, his eyes wer
an ashy, and he wore blanket, which left half d
d bony chest pare. IhIs was = young INV ms ~ e
natic. who having abandoned himself headlong
austerities, and to the hideous demoniacal rites
his fraternity lin which foolish travellers md ON
IE matter of ridicule) had suddenly been seized D
nd the notion that he had won by his bowls and mol
tifcations the dignity Of sainthood, and therefor
refusing to speak, he surrendered himself to diVn
VI influences Why he should be imprisoned for tn
ut. concet I could not see and looked with pit
ale ~ upon the immovabe and imperturbable plack ei
thusiast
mr. 'Yon have now seen our religious fanatics
said Trcoup "You shall next see our pride shl
sir into insanity This is common form OF Turks
Get, The cell was unbolted by brutal looking tur
lasa kew who wore dirty soldiers dress, and at
approach observed the madmen cronehed a
trembled We saw, leaning against the windo
:. seated eross-legged on rude diFan, covered "
,-r some coarse shawling venerable and sagaeol
w looking old man. with preturnaturaly bright ey
Ps and crisp silvery beard cascading over his q
s. purple robe. He might have been Haroun.al-R n
. child grown DID, or Ali Pasha, the Pasha Of All
RID MIA, with his head glued on again. he bore hms
Or in SO arandly He was acting the su'tan-that "
his insanity. He looked at us as we entered W
infinite contempt; he knew we looked upon n
+ as mere claimant and pretender 20 power, ~.
" despised US. Tricoupi humored him by making
h of salaam and requested him to write us hrmi
eS He gave tus but with the air of man who thoa
err confident Of greatness, IS the oolect OF fiueai,
suspicion. We bowed ourselves out very careful
AVE and with half spite the malignant turnkey boil
the the DOORS for the sultan was ut times violent
i g highly dangerous if treated with any want OF
the spect. Poor old man, happy in his dellslon
We had Just visited one of the dormitories, W
iron little peasant child cretn wearing only COS
N tunic OF sackcloth, ran to greet u.s. As ne lea
up and down with bare feet upon the stones,
,.n ing our hands, and putting the hens of our c.
ERE TO his lipsthe brutal turnkey laughing all the
Of at the drollery of the thing and at the pleasa
m Of nature in giving such children-Legof
l. phrenologically feeling the idiots head ana pe
Y. ing with lecturers horror TO the hollow GU
forehead, and at the enormous boss OIL a eefe
~. lum. We gave the poor child piastre, ana u
y hes o stantly flew off like deer to buy Bread crow
-. 49,. ~ Not ss half fed, said Legof
EF, A moment afterwards we saw him racing =
to cell at the opposite corner of the squar'
lave share the bread with ms gaarala I'LL =,
change ino believing himself bewitched. we saw
child crouching at his feet in the doorway SIN
IT. as the attentive friend first eheWea lne oaaea
rect. | of bread strewn with grains OF sesame, and
-, crammed them into his pupils mouth, Just as
sAs. | were feeding young OWL 80
II was while we were still watching this o.
ZIG ton-Legoff scornfully, Tricoupi with assumed
honaie-that mailman came up and aeeoste
one for His face like the rest, wore tho agonzed,
torial stare Of changeless insanity that some
Of all always wear.
at the stance Of the decay of some regulating mental
ciple. Body of Bacchus He imagines his
! SAW changes every minute to that OF some dead
will try him. y
turban, and put his head on one side, as If try
Ives we listen, or to remember. In moment he ans
,hiHery boldly " BaiaZetp We repeated the CT
81 6m slovfy. he looked as il he were watching q I
TsEgT. roulette Wheel and replied, !" Amurath;;s {
time, and he said, e" Mahmoud." It was a
..rSn n q madness for world of eccentric people
" ~ gesrs you up for Why not for picture buying
who has collecting walking stick mania, or for ha
It's in the fa.ay for ala ah;na
ned with AM, Iaye ~, o - ,,;t ~ tbis mailman
material, thoughtfullooking man, with much o. VI
in asnr gentleman up to US, and with te a
81 who has long been embarrassed with .op
at last begins to see daylight in the dis.aas'
d. and all in GOOD turkish to Dr. Tricoupl VINO ha
on the back. to keep up ~ h pase daejded
collection before the commissioners. ~
e respect Millions -,..a,, ,,sapt nv his I
PMAN. decided on two miihoI ~; NOD f,;and a5d;nu
ELDERS. ,,vn millions on his brown fingers told me q
ID dressed nan was Turkish doctor who, in frenz
e,s e suit murdered at once his father mother and tw
-, dren. The two millions was the indemnity