The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-17
by the only arbitramrnt which appeals

/
to canine intelligence
The privileges OF the dist riot are CAREFUL!
apportioned among the dog inhabitants
The right to call at the butcher shops fo
, scraps Is enjoyed by the chiefs alone. TheI
come private house rights. refuse bins
&c. all carefully apportioned, 30 that ne
dog need starve. although II goes without
saying that every dog Is always hungry.
The marvel is that they survive in such
numbers, and II ia literally true that the
fairly good health OF the city is largely
due to them
The cardinal principle Of dog law ID
the inviolabihty of communal boundaries
Any dog who ventures beyond the precincts
within which he is born aud bred 10 instantly
set upon by every member Of the invaded
tribe. and lucky he is II he escapes with his
life.
II Is easy for men to make friends with
these ownerless animals. They are most
grateful for trining favor and they never
forget. 4 gentleman in the diplomatic
service who usually goes for short walk
before bedtime always carries With him
bit OF bread for . certain dog in an adjoining
| district.
This animal always awaits his benefact or
on the nearest boundary line of his district,
walks with him soleinnly to the opposite
| limit, awaits his return and goes back with
him across the precinct; but never has the
man been able to induce the dog to cross
the frontier Of his own community by so
much as a yard. And such has been dog
government in Constantinople since time
immemorial.
Some significance there surely is in the
existence Of this peculiar institution In the
capital city Of tho "cruel" Turk have
q favorite test OF ono phase OF the character
Of people which try to apply in each
new country or community visit.
In an occasional quiet street, interview,
or attempt to do so, an tinerant domestic
cat get the truth from such a witness
almost invariably Ii Grimalkin always
flies at my approach, draw an obvious
conclusion regarding his or her human
colleagues.
may say here, parenthetically, that the
average London cat is the most confding
and friendly beast on earth, while the Con-
stantinope cat puts an almost equal trust
in human nature as she knowsit. In France.
sad to chronicle. I never have succeeded
In approaching within many yards OF a cat,
IL the cat knew 1t and way of escape was
open, Having still some vestiges OF pa
triotism refrain from naming New York's
place in the category.
One cannot mix even for few days in
the teeming life Of Constantinople without
realizing that religion is the greatest factor
in Levant existence. His religion is far
more 10 Turk than belief a mere faith;
it is absolutely an axiom. Hence 1t is that
conversions of Moslems to the Christian or
any other religion are far more rare than
cases Of insanity.
l note for the moment only the more
obvious effects OF religious precept and
tradition. Mahonet inculcated in his fol-
lowers more thoroughly than has any other
religious teacher the doctrine that cleanli-
ness is next to goodness. Five times daily,
before prayers or before entering mosque,
a good Moslem washes his face and hands,
once daily his ablutions must include other
portions OF the body. SO one sees row upon
row of Turks scrubbing vigorously in front
of the scores Of water taps outside each
mosque.
He is utterly unable 10 understand the
absurd Western custom which prescribes
the uncovering Of the head on entering q
church or private dwelling, but which per-
mits the introduction Of the muck OF the
streets upon ones footgear. He reverses
the process, and a Turkish gentleman
slnilingly limited to me that he had never
been able to obtain any explanation Of the
good taste or superior Significance of the
Christian custom.
Moreover, the Turk is neater with respect
to the condition OF his foot covering than
any European community | was sur
prsed to see not merely occasional boot
blacks at street corners in about New York
proportion, but for every boot stand in an
American city there is a battalion in Con-
stantnople, | gained the impression on
my first stroll that half Of the population
gained it's livelihood by cleaning the boots
Of the other half,
But our rarnble in the streets, the bazars, !
the mosques and the cafes has got no far
tner than the street, and there is danger /
that the serious purpose of this letter be
lost sight of The bazaar. with its 1000 I,
shops. dared We enter it, would hop,lessly i
distract us.
We should learn there that the Greek !
and tho Armenian are sharper business !.
men than the Turk. We should discover, !
also, if We entered into general commerce
that the Turk. while fairly good at bargain.
Is u man of his word in business. How. |
ever tricky and corrupt he may be in politics,
found only one opinion regarding his
commercial integrity. and it was one which |
come more west peoples nigh we'll
envy. II is necessary to make careful |
distinction between the Turk and his Crack
and Armenian colleagues in this respect.
but will not press the distinction farther.
We 60 to the mosques, and while We find
~ 'ewed proof OF the almost incompre-
hensible conviction which makes religion
the creates factor in Mcslsm life, the Won
ds rful temples themselves absorb our at
tertion mora than the devout worshippers
whose heads are bowed toward Mecca
Stand for a moment amid the vastness Of
St Sophia, whose domes during 800 years
have sheltered almos, fifty generations of
Even in these days of con-
tempt for past achievements il ranks as
the greatest temple ever built by human
hands.
There is nothing overwhelming in hs
exterior aspect, as in the grandeur of ST.
Peters at tome. it's rival in sizc, but will hin
its walls many will find the Moslcm temple
more impressive than the cathedral style
Of architect ure--the absence of seats,
the Kaleidoscope Of aero upon acre Of Turkish
rugs soft under your sippcred feet, the
circle of stupendous columns, the dim
diatapca NJ tho lie he