The times., 1897-08-08

ness. Just nov there is great interest in
the Turk and hi s co rela tiyes, the Armenians
and tie Greeks, and books relating 10 them,
their interests, character, associations
and environment are assured OF welcome
and Reconsideration. DR.. Ramsay writesafter
an extensive experience, and his writing
is the carefully digested impressions of
intimacy aud study. II is fairer TO write
a book after long acquaintance with your
subject, but it is not 81 easy, as lie points
out.
one who remains only a Few months in
an Eastern country sees the picturesque
facts, is impressed with the salient features
OF the country. the people aud the life, and
the facts gIoup themselves IN a stlong,
emphatic, unified we'll nceived picture.
One learns how simple Oriental life and
character are; how easy it is 10 govern
an Oriental race, how small matter it is
TO understand the Eastern question: how
quickly he would clear up the tangie OF
the Turkish difficulty If he had the oppot-
tunity. lie is not troubled with Contra
dictory Impressions, because he has had
no time to receive them, = He has seen only
one side, and the novelty and interest of
so strongly that he is filled with the
consciousness OF new knowledge and the
power 1t gives.
But time, travel, experience and as
sociation right all that. When the months
have growninto years of acquaintance, one
doesn find the Eastern Question so easy
to understand. One has had time to see
more, and finds that every one Of his
earliest impressions is contradicted by
some later experience; that every state
ment which he formerly made without
hesitation has become more doubtful.
One no longer makes broad and sweep
ing assertions and generaliZations, for he
feels that they unfair to some extent
and to some OF his knowledge.
DR.. Ramsay's statement of this case is
truthful 10 a degree. He has paved a way
for him to walk over his ground, but in
the light of his narratives it can scarcely
be said that he has risen above the neces-
sity for this apology. He seems to be
overcome by the diversity of his expert
ence. He wavers and is unwilling to as
sert anything positively. But he is mani
festly and studiously fair He gives the
reader his experiences exactly as he re-
by to convey to him the impression created
thereby on himself
1t is hard to take away any other defi-
mite impression from DR.. Ramsays book
except that though limited in civilized
social life and attendant cleanliness,
Greek, Turk, and Armenian cannot be
generalized as wholly good, wholly bad
or wholly Indifferent, but like the gen
erality Of mankind, Some are rich In vfr-
tue, others sordidly poor. The work is
valuable as the scrupulously honest ex-
| preston Of scholar of extensive init
| macy with his subject and as discussion
| OF people Of present consuming interest
DR.. Ramsay does not profess acquaintance
| with Turkish city life. He devoted him
| self to the villages. From his accounts
| the quetest and most uninteresting spo,
| on earth is a Turkish village There are
| no stores. In one of the most important
trading villages he found no change fol
| coin. The inhabitants come and sit about
/ stranger and expect to be entertained
| But they are poor sationalists, ap
| parently. He notes one occasion when thu
| Idlers sat about and no one said wore
| for two and one-half hours. Yet in the frs
line of his preface he processes a love fo
Asiatic Turkey and it's people.
Speaking of the Armenian troubles ant
| the Turkish massacres the writer says
ITO appreciate what was the situation TO
| theverge Of whichthe rmenians W ere offer
| brought, and which they felt as danger
| con tin ually threatening them in case
they dspleased their masters and rio
was reused, one must conceive what has
| always been the character of thorough
| going Turkish massacre. 1t does not NEAR
merely that thousands are killed daily by
| sword, the torture or the fire. 1t doe,
not mean merely that everything they pos
sess is stolen, their houses and shops
looted and often burned, every articl
| worth a halfpenny taken, the corpses
stripped. 1t does not mean merely tha
the survivors are left penniless, withou
food, sometimes literally stark naked
That is cnly the beginning, the lighter
brighter side of Turkish massacre.
"sometirnes when the Turks hav,
been especially merciful, they have of
fered their victims escape from deatl
by accepting Mohanmedanism. But as t
the darker side Of Turkish massacre
personal outrage and shame take wha
the more free spoken historians of forme
times have told; gather together tn
details of the most horrible and inde
scrlbable outrages that occasional crimi
nails Of half-lunatic character commit 1
this country; imagine these criminals CO
lected in thousands, heated with tn.