The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1902-07-31
'ER, MINNEsoTA THURSDAY. july 81. 1902

cap was as honorable as the horse-taiIs
Of Beyler Bey-the latter rank equiv
alent to the modern one of general of
division" They elected their own Off
GERS, from Chief Aga down to the low.
est subordinate. All controversies, dis
putes and contentious were settled by
their Chief Aga; the sentence and pun
ishment of delinquent was also de-.
cided by this officer, assisted by mill
tary council composed of those next in
command. The standard of individual
honor was carried to such an apogee of
Integrity that simple "no" or "yeso
from the accused in answer to the
charge sufficed; if guilty and amenable
to the death penalty, morally speaking,
he became his own executioner. At
sign from the Chief Aga silent figure
steps quietly to the criminals side-a
cleaning arc of light-a hiss like that
of the cobra's, and the headless trunk.
swaying for a moment in mechanical
equipoise, falls Imply on the spot
where it stood. Justice swift and sure,
but still justice. The man understood
the law and knew the consequence of
its transgression. On the other hand,
rewards for merit were distributed in
lavish and impartial manner; an
odaiisk of rare beauty, a priceless gem,
an advance in rank, all conduced to
discipline which made the Janizaries
one of the finest bodies of lighting men
ever put into the field.
The preparatory school, originally at
Adrianople, formed a great court, sur
rounded on all sides by barracks. In
the center a huge soup kettle, the en-
blem of the Janizaries, mounted on a
pole stood guard. The officers of the
school were old and crippled men, re-
tired from active service. The spirit
of the veterans was thus enthnsed into
the young recruit by constant contact,
and the rigid habits of after service
were acquired almost insensibly by daily
routine and exercise. The "water test
gives some idea of the strenuosity of
the training-a small red flag was at
tached to block of wood and cast
some five rods from shore, skimming
over the thin ice of the adjacent river.
The boys were taken to the bank, de-
nuded, and sent in race after. the flag:
the unwilling were whipped into the
ice already broken by the more ven
turesome. To whomever brought the
crescent bunting to shore, prize was
awarded and he was placed in petit
rank above his fellows. This expert
ment was to measure their grit and
powers of endurance. The neophyte's,
characteristics, his propensities, his
tendencies in given directions were TAX
en- note of and tabulated. Any partic-
ular bent, ability or faculty that might
eventually prove useful to the corps
was fastened upon, fostered and assid-
uously cultivated. The tutelary deity
of the instructors seemed to have been
perseverance, coupled with painstak-
ing care that must have given an equi-
table return in exchange; their capacity
for minutia and detail seem inexhaust-
ible in every department, gymnastic
exercises, fence, equestrianism, use of
the short bow, assault and defence of
barbican and turret, knowledge prac-
tical and theoretical, the finesse of in
trigue, the niceties of secret espionage.
Every art known and connected with
warfare was taught and inculcated in
to the mind of the young aspirant for
honors. The positive enforcement of
such curriculum must have yielded
men who were men-a race of demi-
gods. From the art Of camp cookery
or the braiding of a saddle-girth, up to
the lightning riposte that severed in
mid-air the floating ball of down, the
novice became proficient in every arm.
of the service; he was not an arm-he
was the arm-a solidarity sufficient un-
to itself.
Implicit obedience is the child of alb
solute fidelity to cause they had it. It
was the sine qua non underlying all
their laws of government. Only once
was this government interfered with,
the occasion finding its cause in fir
man promulgated by Mahomet L.
their sultan; the latter attempted to
appoint their Chief Aga, thus superse-
ding their old law OK election. There
was 9 growl, 9 war and the soup ket-