The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-02-08
The Turkish Crcasure Room.

Charles Dudley Warner, in chapter
about COnstantinople, writes as fol
.ows:
"Tha apartment in the seraglio
which is the object OF curiosity aud de-
sire is the treasure room. | suppose it
IS the richest IN the world in gems; it
10 certainly most wcarIsunie place,
and gave me a contempt for earthly
treasure. In the center stands Per
star tEronG--a chair upon broad Plat
form, and both iBcrusted with rubies,
pearls, emcraids, diamonds; there are
toilet tables covered to lhe feet with
diamonds, pipc-stems glistcning with
huge diamonds, old armur thickly set
with precious stones, saddle cloths and
stirIups stiff with diamonds and enc
raids, robes embroidered with pearls
Nothing Is so cheap as wealth laYished
in this manner; at first we were duZ-
zled by the flashing display, but after
time these heaps Of gems seemed as
common IN our eyes as pebbles in the
street. | did not even covet an emerald
us large as my fist, nor swordhIlt
IN winch were fifteen diamonds, each
rs large as the end of my thumb, nor
carpet sown with pearls, some of which
were Of the size of pigeons eggs, nor
aigrettes which were blazing with in
jernal fires, nor chairs of state, clocks
and vases, the surfaces of which were
on fire with Jewels. l have seen an
old oakcn table, carved in the fifteenth
century, which gave me more pleasure
81 -
hibite AS the most costly article III
Tins collection, though it is Inlaid with
precious stones, and the pillars that
support the mirror are set with dia-
monds and the legs and claws are Il
mass of diamonds, rubles, carbuncles,
cmeraids, topaZes, etc, and huge dia-
mOnd pendants ornament it, and the
deep fringe in front is altogether of
diamonds. This is but barbarous,
ostcntatlous and tasteless use Of ii e
beautiful, and, | suppose, gives one al
idea of the inartistic magnificence Of
the oriental courts in centuries gone by.
This treasure-hOuse has, Ipresumc,
nothing that belongs to the byzantine
emper0rs before the Moslem conquest,
some of whom exceeded in their mag
nitiCeuce any Of the Osmanli sui
t&ins. Arcadius, the first eastern en-
peror after the division of the Roman
world, rivaled in the appointment Il
his palace (Which stood upon this spot)
md in his dress the magniticence OF
che Persian Tionarchs; and perhaps
the luxurious caliphs of i ,gdud at a
ter day did not equal his splendOr
dis robes were of purple, a color re-
| served exclusively Tor ms sacred per-
son, and of silk, embroidered with
gold dragons; his diadem was of gold
set with gems U5 measurable worth
| MS throne was massive gold, and when
he went abroad he rode IN Il chariot of
solid, pure gold, drawn by two milk
white males shining il harness and
yrappirgs of gold.
"No spot on earth has been the scene
Of such luxury, cruelty, trcacherys, muir.
| der, faith!essness of women and rapac-
Ity OF men, as this site of the old
| palace; and the long record of the
| Christian emperoTs-the occasionally
interrupted anarchy and usurpatiOn OF
n thousand years-loses nothing in
these respects in comparison with the
Turkish occupation, although the
world shudders at the unrovealed Sc
crets of the seragliO. At least we may
suppose that nobody's conscience was
violated if IL pretty woman was occa
slonally dropped into the BosphoruS,
and there was the au h ,rity of custom
fnr the strangling of all the children O
| the sisters uf the sultan, so that tn,
succession might not be embarrassed.