The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-11-11
TOLD O THETURK
GENERAL LEW WALLACE AND HIS
NEW LECTURE.
Native Life rs Seen In Old Constants
nopIe The Distinguished Author
E~ntertains n Cultured Audience.


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renowned author. soldier and diplomat,
Gen. Lew Wallace, who gave "Ben-Hur."
ETC., to the literary world, made his first
appearance in this city as a lecturer. Nat
urally. the people wanted TO see the author.
The reception was extremely fiattering.
The General possesses no trick Of oratory,
but reads plainly and distinctly and with
dignifed effect from manuscript held In one
hand, while he gesticulates with studied
elegance with the other. After an affec-
tionate Introduction by Gen. w. H. L..
Barnes the distinguished writer on Eastern
topics opened his address by saying that he
had an Oregonian cold. He impressed the
fact that the cold was not caught in Cali
fornia- However. the trouble existed. and
on that account the General asked the
audience to grant him the indulgence of a
conversational tone. That boon being con-
ferred without hesitation, the speaker
opened up on Turkey and the Turks"
The lecturer had often been asked as to
the best route to ~Constantinople. and the
answer given possessed all the accuracy
and necessary detail of a railroad guide.
BY following those directions to the letter
the fnal effect OF the trip was ike the
The scenery en- route compared favorably
with picturesque bits along the Hudson and
lower Niagara. Steaming up the Bosphorus
on the approach to the Sublime Porte the
wonderful variety of boats to be seen filled
the pilgrim with awe and admiration.
ocean liner 20 the putting tug and the lazy
fishing boat greeted the eye. On drawing
nearer the red-tiled roofs OF the houses
stood clearly outlined against the sky. Sit
ting on the balconies were the Inhabitants,
mostly women and children, taking the air
or eF.b Looking SdnF at the fishermen She ,aok and I'd their hsn slug 5Iqe5
Turks" he continued, you wonder IL there
Is any advantage in doing nothing"
DIT AHA1a l. H. -s1--t- liz &A@A
they have plenty of time and room for re-
Election, and the day does not seem so
entirely wasted, after all; As you sweep
In number on either side OF the silvery
stream. until finally the ancient walls, tow
ers and minarets of old Constantinople
burst upon the gaze.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS.
Rigidly avoiding statistics the General
gave his first impressions on beholding Con-
stantinople. On entering the place he for
got all else save the origin and antiquity
OF the city. He encountered the odors
arising in the narrow, crooked streets, and
envied the pigeons circling in the pure
ozone higher up. Two blocks from the
custom house." he said, "the stranger Is
overrun with dogs and beggars. The dogs
belong to no one and everybody belongs
TO the beggars. Wonderful variety in the
study OF human life is afforded by watch
lux lAc IlQcS SOD u II lIO III Tie STcdl
city. People of all classes and nationali-
ties are there congregated. The Turk Is
jealous OF his own and would, If he could,
expe all others AS for the people, every
sixty-mile-an-hour tourist takes them all
to be Turks.
'sThe presence of red fec does not neces-
earily imply that the wearer is a Turk.
All the subjects Of his Majesty the Sultan
are compelled to wear the fez, but there
that style of headgear At the cafes is the
best place to see the Turk. Round and fat
of face, he sits and sips his coffee, happys
is acute rather than strong. He loves dis
QUESTION and runs to the abstract in reas-
soning. The Turk possesses. no artistic
statues left by the Jews when the city was
taken. Neither are the subjects of the Sui
garded in the East as Indifferent merchants.
They make rugs as a specially and there
Is nothing from which the Turks suffer
Literature is in no sense a fad, the ten
6ency Of the country being toward religion.
change. God is still his God, and Moham-
med is still his prophet. They possess
many good traits Of mind and heart and
studying the Christianity Of the Turk.
while in Constantinople the General saw
natives. The patrol wagon there is pat
ronized exclusively by aliens from more en-
lghtened lands Another, trait of the native
Is his kindness to dumb beasts. The team
ster Is never seen TO beat his horse, and
the thousands OF homeless dogs are not mo-
Tested. They have the right of way at all
hours in the principal streets.
1.-The Turk also has great respect for
women; A mob Of the gentIer sex is sutti-
without a blow being struck. The native Is
also the politest man on earth. Among
known, but the humblest Turk is a true
Chesterfield. He is also a very devout man.
the suppiicant is satisfied that God sees and
hears him, and that fact makes the devout
Turk supremely happy. At times he be-
ton. As a solder the Turk is also great,
and the old Mohammedan reward of an
cient times is still an Incentive to valor on
the part OF the Sultan's standing army.
HOME LIFE.
Defeats in battle which have overtaken
the army are due more to ignorance and
jealousy among the officers than to lack of
valor on the part OF the soldiers. In taking
account Of the military Of Europe 1t will not
do to ignore the Turk. In the matter of
home life the Turk is very pleasantly situ-
ated. While polygamy is permitted he is
careful TO take no more wives than ne can
support In comfort. Their home life is hap
py, and the ladies OF the harem are by no
windows that romancers have depicted
them. The wife has one apartment in the
house OF which she is absolute mistress.
She can go visiting when and where she
pleases without consulting the master. On
shopping days Mrs. Turk fixes herself up in
gaudy Silken trousers and other things and
visits the bargain counters at the bazars.
The husband is a well-trained individual,
who, should he meet his better half at the
bazaar, turns quietly and makes his escape
without comment. She is there to buy what
she pieases, and his business is TO pay for
the purchases. The ladies always get
themselves up in elegant style before leav-
ing the house, and each harem has an ac-
complished artist on its staff whose bus
mess is to fresco the faces OF the beauties.
It Is through a carriage window that the
Turkish woman Is seen to the best advan-
tage on the street, as the waddle of a
duck. is considered an exact description of
her gait. Turks prefer TO select wives
from among the Circassian beauties whom
they buy on the matrimonial exchange,
but In spite OF all their tabled beauty the
ladies or the harem are not as handsome as
our own women here in America"
The speaker closed with a brief insight
into the character and habits of the Sui
TAM. who looks and dresses like a Euro
pean- 1t pleased the General greatly to
hear the Sultan declare In a public place
that the United States was the only coun-
try that had not conspired against his. He
Is, indeed, a most potent monarch, for more
than one powerful Pasha has been known
gaze OF the Sultan. His Is an absolute gov
ernment yet Turkey and the United States
are the only really Democratic countries in
the world. There all men are equal, and
in Turkey everybody but the Sultan is a
slave. Even a negro can aspire TO a high
equality enjoyed by the slaves. The Gen.
eral corrected the impression that the Tur-
kiSh empire was Fastening to an end. That
end, he said, depends on the settlement OF
the Eastern question, which Is the partition
OF the Ottoman possessions by the various
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