New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-07-26

assisted by T. ]. W. Glib and Arthur Gilman
With Illustrations 12mo PIP. 900. o. r. fu'-
MANS Sons.
Mr. Lane Poole has perhaps done as much as
any one could in the impossible task Of giving WITHIN
the limits Of a small volume, sufficient account Va
the rise and decline of the Ottoman Empire 10
necessarily little mo- than skeleton history, ana INC
life Of the Turkish people Il not illustrator "' an
while the barest reference is permitted 10 tha' e'".
and dominant question of religion which Is ana
! ALWAYS has been the master-kcy Ottoman policy
and progress or want OF progress. Tho developmeht
and growth of the ottoman Power from very smah
beginnings is not indeed especially WONDERFUL slheo
nearly all great empires of the past aosc III INC
same manner and all the empires OF the East hau
like origins when might made right more openly
than at any later PERIOD the success of any natoh
depcnded chiefly upon its military capacity. The
Ottomans adopted some peculiar principles winch
from an early stage OF their career
save them tho immense advantage OF s'a-
bility in government Tho institution Oh
force composed wholly Of aliens taken captive
in childhood. educated TO arms and TO forget iher
piein and charged, when arrived at maturity WIN
the care of the sovcrcgns person and the conduct OF
the decisive movements in battle gave to the ot'o
man Sultans protection against ordinary one'"
treachery and intrigue which enabled them TO con-
solidate their conGucsts and TO maintain single
dynasty for centuries upon the throne
The Janissaries In time became menace 10 the
were inevitably dcmoralizcd and corrupted by the
honors and privileges of their position. Their career
followed the lines Of the Practoran Guard's turbu
lent evolution. From being an Invaluable lhs'ru-
mcnt In the hands of the Sultans they became the
tyrants OF their nominal lords and. at last Ike their
Romen prototypes. they asprci 10 rule pulled down
and set up sovercigns broke into riot whenever thcr
nudacious projects traversed. and forced the
issue Of their determination upon the Government
Dtt fs IN he ohS
tnued expansion of the Ottoman Empire was only
made possible by the security these alien meronaTfcS
cave to the rulln- family. Had there been no JAMS
sares we may be certain that palace revolutions com
pllcated with rcglcde would have introduced con-
fusion and hndercd state ACKNOWLEDGMENT there as IN
all other Oriental counties and in that case the OF
ioman Empire would have been exiinguished cent
urcs since and the whole course of European history
would have been changed As Il was. time came
when it seemed quite possible that the Turk would
make himself the master of Europe; when 10 power
that cou,d be mustered capable Of turning BACK
the Ottoman hordes. and the cross appeared to be
sinking before the crescent
This was not to be. and when the Grand Turk
was at the zenith of his power the virtue began TO
hcrart from his arm. 1t is an old and monoonons
story a repetition Of examples IN natural law which
The word IS slow in apprehendng. The Turk was
magnificent fighting machine al the time when hghting
was the most necessary means Of empire building
Therefore. the Turf, founded great empire. He
could not maintain his conQucsts, because he had
adopted a religion which was at war with natural de-
vclJpincn That religion fettcred the prevented
II from advancing. nourishcd its most conservative
tendencies stunted its intellectual growth. and by
keeping in a state of barbarism. promoted the in
crease of those corrupt forms Of government which
sooner later turned all its fcudaores into desperate
rebels and rottcd the bonds of empire AS to the
cruelty OF the Turks Il has been muck overstatcd
They were more ferocious than their European
neighbors as a rule. They believed in a
thorough policy, and 1t was the
custom when sultan assembled the throne for him 70
kill all his brothers and other possible heirs At
scmpts to follow this summary policy were, however,
formerly made in several European countries, and
the history England has many examples OF the kind
Tho bravery and simplicity OF the Turkish people
have always been celebrated No race ever possessed
more sterling natural gifts and down 10 this day the
fighting power Of the Otomans remains undimnIshcd,
as the Russars discovered 10 their cost at Plevna,
where they left fifty thousand of the flower of their
troops. and IL report at the time trust worthy
finally owed to their gold than their guns In
securing Osman Pachas surrender Not that that hero
was vena 1t the pachas between him and
Ccnstantnope, who charged with renewing his
wasted supplies of ammunition and food upon whose
heads fastened the treason of that occasion.
A chapter might profitably have been given to the
Eays of life of the Turkish masses, and TO tho inu
tnce of Islam upon national existence. II IS quite
Impossible TO obtain clear understanding Of the
situation without some study of popular manners and
customs, and since Mr. Lane Poole is familiar with
the subject. as few living writer's claim to be,
1t is the to be regretted that he did not under
tako this slight extension Of his work What Mr..
W. G. Paerave did for Central Arabia requires 10
be done for Turkey, and until it is done
some indispensable data for forming a judgment
upon Ottoman history Will be wanting. Mr.. Lane
Poole in this volume gives much interesting Gescrip
ton of the palace government in STEAMBOAT, though
the greater part Of IL refers to extinct arrangements
and ceremonies and very little IS told of modern
Turkey. In work Of the kind discussion Of the
Eastern Question TO have been expected, are
such discussions usually profitable, when under
taken by acknowledged authority like Lord
II ratford de Redclinc ir. LanePoole, however
ventures to intimate his confidence in Ottoman vaOr
by suggesting a doubt whether. II the Porte were
perfectly unrammelled, and Russia given full scope
for aggression, II is absolute certainty that the
Gar would be proclaimed on the Bosporus. OF
point, but there is certainly for doubt to
the practical dspossesson of the Turk in Europe, and
the skrnkagc of his dominions 10 limits ptful
that unless there great recrudescenco of
Mohammedanism II is scarcely conceivable that the
ObseQuies Of the I" sick man. should be much longer
postponed