Morning journal and courier., 1884-08-27

that the Mohammedans construed as savorine of imagery. One must, of course, disasso- ciate the grand design of Sophia from its present dilapidation; but still, perfect candor will not permit me to admire it I was led to admire the magnificent Saracenie creations of Delhi and Agra. It is hardly fair to com pare architectural voices from two such di-
 verse ages, however.
 The Suleimanieh and several other mosques approach St. Sophia in architectural preten- sions, if they do not surpass it; but they are all patterned on the Sophia as a model, so that individual mention is unnecessary.
 Just back of Sophia is one of the entran- ces to the old Seraglio. This is no longer used as the Sultan's palace, although some of the buildings escaped the fire of 1863. Located at the very point of the great penin- sula, it commands a splendid view down the Sea of Marmora, as well as across to Skutari and up the Bosphorus. The various gates to the enclosure guarded by soldiers, who have to be bribed of course, It seems pity for such fine site and such well-wooded
 enclosure to be in as deserted a condition as
 this old Seraglio now is. The present Sultan
 prefers the more secure location of his other
 palaces in the northern suburbs of Pera, for
 he is morbidly apprehensive of physical vio-
 1ence. The only points of interest within
 are the library, throne-room, mint, Church
 of St. Irene (ByZantine), and museum of
 arms. The inaction of the authorities makes
 it about impossible for the traveller, who is
 in hurry, to gain admission to these pa1a- ces, since they are under royal jurisdiction.
 On the seashore is the old harem, where so many deeds of violence and lust have been
 consummated during all the centuries.
 Scores of innocent, unfortunate objects of
 the imperial displeasure have been cast from
 those walls into the sea of 8 dark night,
 sewn up in a sack, according to the most ap-
 proved Turkish fashion, never more to offend
 the eyes of a capricious, satiated Sultsn.
 The principal entrance to the Seraglio is the
 far-famed Sublime Porte," called Bab-i-
 Humayoon in Turkish. The present literal
 Porte is pretentious gateway to the govern
 mental offices further up the hill in the heart
 of Stamboul.
 I followed the crumbling walls of the an-
 cient city for a long distance. They are a
 fine specimen of medieval architecture, and
 show the marks of thousands of besieging
 darts and catapults. In some places they
 are very well preserved, being decorated with
 Latin and Greek carvings, which show the
 constant struggles of those two peoples to
 hold this coveted city. There are two walls
 and remains of the moat outside of them,
 which was also extended up into a wall on
 it's inner bank. Of course these walls have
 been repeatedly repaired and modified, but
 the main framework must date back to the
 fourth century, when Constantine founded
 his eastern capital here.
 Passing through a bazaar nearly half
 mile long, arcaded overhead all the way,
 and supplied with all sorts of fabrics on
 scale that ecIipsed both Damascus and Cai-
 TO, I headed for the so-called Hippodrome.
 The Hippodrome is to-day a small open
 square southwest of St. Sophia, where the
 chief monuments of the past are to be
 seen. Here and there faint traces may be
 discovered of the circus formed by the Elm peror Severus, 900 feet long and 450 feet
 broad. The center of the opening is Cccu- pied by an Egyptian obelisk fifty feet high covered with hieroglyphics. This was an old friend of mine-at least by proxy; for it was the companion obelisk to one which had inspected, half buried by the rub bish which had accumulated. about it, in Heliopolis, Egypt, (The Egyptian obelisks were erected in pairs.) On the base were Greek and Latin inscriptions telling how Theodosius had caused it to be erected here, and figures Illustrating the machinery by which it was raised into it's present po- sition. Historically relic is more valua- ble than that which is enclosed by fence not far from the obelisk-the column of the three serpents This monument con sists of three bronze serpents about fifteen feet long, with their bodies twisted spiral ly as far as the necks. Their heads have been smitten off by Mohammed II and oth- er great Moslems, as an insult to the By zantine organism which the monument commentaries. It is indeed a Byzantine relic, said to have been brought from Del phi; and it is believed that the three ser pentine heads upheld the golden tripod upon which the priestess of Apollo sat.
 But to turn from the commonplace attractions of the city, which every traveller sees. Here I am brought face to face with this great political incubus which hangs over the whole Levant, and weights down every progressive
 II. .Ls n-so tai. Half the laws in the statute books are tacit confessions of the utter supine- ness of the government. Especially are the recent decrees and pronuncia- mentos obnoxious to people who have been accustomed to live where free thought and free expression of thought dominate. The new press bureau here, which is under the direction of Medgid Pasha, is an example of this. There is a long list of subjects, the dis cussion and even the bare mention of which is prohibited. Isnail's chances of re-ascend- ing the Khedivial throne cannot be canvassed, and the illness and death of Midhat are sub jects that no pen can touch. Eastern Roum- ella and the Soudan are terms which cannot appear in type or be alluded to indirectly. There are two daily newspapers here, print ed half in French and half in English. 1 do not know whether they exactly under the same rules as are the Turkish journalists at Stamboul; but I should judge that either they are Idu1CdllY GuIOCG1oU, UT 6I60 byCO- phantic in policy, for every copy have yet seen has been full of sickening rot favorable to the Porte. In Japan I thought there was not much liberty of the press, but this is the eli max. Even in Japan the English and French papers were some of them unrelenting in their hostility to the Tokio government, and with far less cause.
 At present there is great excitement over the move to suppress" the foreign postof- l, oeirr of nf1So 11,t all, British French, Austrian German, Rus sian and Greek,-though believe the Greek \ is about to suspend operations. Of course the fact that there are such offices at all is direct insult to the character of Ottoman in stitutions. Moreover, the offices absorb a considerable revenue that would justly be- long to Turkey, in case an equivalent for the foreign postal service were rendered by the a well regulated postal system would undoubtedly be 8 source of revenue here But these offices exist as a means of elf-defense. As a matter of positive fact, the Ottoman postal service is not trust l worthy The fact that I am personally under the loss of several letters | committed to it is not the only thing which | leads me to this conclusion. l accept the testimony of scores of European business | men to this effect l have found one or two ! who said: fsI have tried the Ottoman service | for good while, and have had no losses. I 1 regard it as efficient But this is no argu- nent It would be a phenomenally incom- oetent service indeed that did not by coinci fence get somebody's mail through all right. ! The present suppressive movement sets forth I hat the improvements in the Ottoman ser vice have now put it on par with the ser vice of other countries. Even were that true | n the case of Constantinople, it must be re- nembered that there are other cities, Smyrna, 1 Beyrout, Jaffa and Jerusalem, where the ser vice is slatternly and incompetent in the ex- ;reme. At Jerusalem and Jaffa no foreigner would trust the Turkish post under any cir ,umstances American mail bound for I Smyrna is now made to pass compulsorily | through the Turkish post via Constantinople l md the Oriental express. It is significant | act that the merchants there always send wo copies of their letters, week apart. un- Ter circumstances when they would not other wise do so and that they seek to evade the 'ule and send by Brindisi.
 This attack upon the foreign postofices is periodical affair, but this year it has gone urther than ever before It has even been threatened that the offices will be closed by he military. The ''request of the Porte" s indeed nothing more than request, des- ,ite the vigorous bluster that now accom- ,anies it. have before me copy of the !