-MR WHITE'S THREE TEARS IN CONSTANTINOPLE. 'Mn. WHITE, we believe,

is the editor of Sminburne's Letters, the author of an account of the Belgian Revolution' and, if not a diplo- matist himself, has a diplomatic connexion. For the last three years he has been residing in Constantinople, and of course determined to write a book upon the subject. But the question naturally arose—what should it be ? The antiquities of the city had been discussed and described till nothing remained untold, though a good deal possibly unread ; a mere general description of external objects and the impressions they produce, even if relieved with incident and Oriental characters, was not new, but on the contrary had been done annually or oftener. Mr. White therefore determined on a minute and elaborate delineation of Turkish life, man- ners, and institutions, as they can be studied out of doors, and as they could be learned by hearsay or slight facilities of observation at home. And he has produced a more informing and amusing book than might have been supposed possible.

The mode or manner of the work is something between that of a well- known reminiscent and Kohl the German traveller and litterateur. Let the.reader endow Mr. Grant of the Great Metropolis with a style more approaching the state and measure of diplomacy, and a somewhat greater

' • Mist. c. ii. Should, however, any friend of Archbishop 'Parker assign to that Prelate the merit of the discovery, I shall not dispute the priority of his claim. This at least is certain, that he ascribed the misfortune at Caine to a conspiracy between The Devil and-themonks. -Humana fraude et ope diabolica earere non potait. (Antiq. p. 87.) " knowledge of Turkish than he possessed of French when he went to Box* so as to enable him to explain the primitive meaning or roots of words and give a passing disquisition on language. Let him also suppose Mr. ,G. to remain in Stamboul for years, instead of hurrying things over in& a week or two ; visiting all the bazaars, and buying or perhaps only bar- gaining to get an insight into business ; "blowing a cloud" and sip- ping his toffee; rowing in kayiks or Bosphorus wherries, and learning all about fares and regulations ; seeing every eight from a street-row .or an execution up to the Sultan's processions and reviews of the troops. Conceive him, with more of diplomatic tact and manner than Mr. Grant appears to possess at present, making the acquaintance of retired offieers of the seraglio, practising physicians, and " liberal " Turks, and feeling his way in questions touching the arcaua of domestic life. Imagine him mixing in good society both European and Turkish, so far as the latter may be open to Franks, and picking up many really characteristic anec- dotes of individuals and stories illustrative of Ottoman manners ; not omitting, of course, the neighbouring scenes that are devoted to recrea- tion—the Greenwich, Gravesend, and Hampton Court of Constantinople. Then let the reader fancy the result of such qualifications and opportu- nities, arranged with that regard to popular clearness which distin- guishes Grant ; and he will have a general idea of the substance and method of Three Years in Constantinople.

For literary execution we must recur to Kohl ; for although both he and Grant deal more in the externals than the essences of things, Kohl is less superficial—he seas characteristics rather than mere reporters' points, and handles his subject in a more artistieal if not in a more philosophical way. Grant has no second or deeper meaning ; there is no conclusion to be drawn from his paragraphs ; or rather perhaps he sees nothing that contains a conclusion, unless it be the " ways " and the blarney that, without his knowledge, are imposing upon him. Kohl 4an point a moral, and rise to a just judgment upon general truths. In this faculty he probably excels Mr. White ; whose acumen may be doubted, though it looks well enough from the sort of official style in which he clothes it. Neither perhaps in point of literary skill can he compare with Kohl. Three Years in Constantinople., though a more laboured and minute account than St. Petersburg, is not so elaborate or striking, a picture. It comes nearer to it, however, than any other book ; though Mr. White introduces some subjects more solidly informing,—as the chapter on a species of Turkish mortmain, or rather, artificial trusteeship, by which a person making the Mahometan Church his trust can , deal ad libitum with the beneficial interest. The Greeks had a somewhat similar process by dedicating an estate ; the object in both cases being the same, to avoid the confiscations of the sovereign Sultan or _the sovereign People.

The bazaars are the most elaborately-treated subject in the work; form- ing one half of the volumes in their general and particular statement, and being, in fact, overdone. It is well enough to know what " bezestan" was originally derived from, how the bazaars grew to what they are, when they open, when they shut, and innumerable other details of their general management and characteristics ; but it was not necessary.to present the reader with a minute account of each individual bazaar, with all that is sold therein, and sometimes something like a catalogue of articles.

The account of the boats and boatmen of the Bosphorus—" the silent highway" of Constantinople—is better, because briefer, add consequently broader. It also contains some particulars touching ambassadoriaLex- penses and etiquette; for the kayik is a substitute for the state-coach.

BOATING ON TILE BOSP11011US.

According to traditionalccuivention, Ambassadors-Extraordinary are entitled to ten oars, two abreast; Internuncios and Ministers Plenipotentiary to eight cars, or seven pair of sculls. Ministers-Resident, a new and useless diplomatic creation, adopt the same number, when they can afford the expense; and Charges d'Af faires may employ five pair of sculls, but usually content themselves with three. The oars and mouldings of diplomatic kayiks are generally painted in imitation of the national colour; and the hulls white or black, with a deep border, orna- mented with gold arabesques. The reis usually wears a rich Albanian dress; and the boatmen in cold weather put on embroidered vests without sleeves, also of the national colour. The rest of their dress consists of the customary red skull-cap, with blue tassel; white shirt, made of the stuff called birunjyk, half woollen and half silk, with large loose sleeves; and the full-plaited small-clothes of white linen, reaching to the knee, without stockings. A full-sized kayik, handsomely fur- nished, costs about 10,000 piastres. [A piastre is rather more than 2d.; in exchange, 100 piastres to I. The heads of great missions generally retain a reis in constant pay; and during summer, two other men, for their private host. Thewages of the former are about 350, and those of the latter 300 piastres per month. Each kayikjee hired for the day receives 20 piastres. The reis, or ham- lajee, (stroke-oarsman,) has the charge of the Envoy's boat and liveries, and hires and pays the crew. The expense of kayiks during summer forms a heavy addition to the diplomatic extra charges; as it costs the Governmentabout two pounds each time their repre- sentative takes the water in the state kayik, and a current expense of ten pounlis per month. This is an evil not to be avoided. Firstly, it is customary for the Turkish Ministers, and for all persons of higher degree, to remove from their town konaks (mansions) to their yallys (marine villas) on the Bosphorus, about the same period that the Sultan removes from hie winter palace of Beshik-tash (em- file-stone) to the so-called European "sweet waters," to Beglerbey, or to his more gorgeous and fairy abode of Tchiraghan, (the illuminated.) At this period the heat and dust of Pent become nearly insupportable, and the Diplomatic Carps proceed either to Buyukdery or Therapia ; consequently, the readiest, indeed the only commodious mode of communicating either with the Porte or with the yallys of the Ottoman Ministers, is by water. An establishment for this purpose, is therefore indispensable. Secondly, as the hierarchy of rank is maintained and designated by the sizeof each Turkish functionary's boat, and as the rules of etiquette are nicely observed, they expect foreigners to exhibit the same distinctions. They would not only entertain a mean notion of the Envoy or nation making use of a boat inferiortin size to that appropriated to his station, but would regard such simpheity as a mark of disrespect to themselves, unless. the Envoy announces his intenteon.of visiting incognito, when a three or two-pair-oared boat may be used. When En- voys or their wires take the water in their pnvate boats, one of 'their kavass tits upon the after-deck, and the military posts stand toand carry anus. When-the state kayiks, with.colours hoisted, pass by, thesepashepresent arms.

Coffee—the tea, win; spirits, and maitliquor:of the East—is of mime

handled from the very first beginning to the finish. We will give the alpha and omega.

STAMBOUL COFFEE EMPORIUM.

Fronting the North-west entrance to the Flax-market, is situated Tahmiss E:bana, where a large portion of the coffee consumed in the city is roasted, -Rounded, and sold wholesale or retail to bakals (grocers) or coffeehouse-keepers. Tahmiss Khana, a Government monopoly farmed to an Armenian company, under the superintendence of a Turkish kihaya, is the only establishment of the kind in Europe. It comprises magazines for storing and sorting, stoves for roasting, and mills for pounding the bean.

The latter consist of three distinct horizontal wheels, each worked by two lorses. Each wheel acts upon a set of levers, that turn a long cylinder, armed with semicircular pegs, placed at regular intervals. These pegs, acting like the teeth of a barrel-organ, rise in succession, and lift up an equal number of iron pestles, which are elevated about two feet, and then the pegs, revolving backward, allow the pestles to fall upon the beans strewed in a long stone trough. The powder, when sufficiently bruised, is swept out, and conveyed to an adjoining chamber to be weighed and sifted. The three mills pound an average of 2,750 pounds per day. Von Hammer observes that the action of the aroma causes the eyes of the Ar- menian workmen to sparkle with exceeding animation. I could only perceive that the poor men's skins, saturated with coffee-dust, gave to them the appear- ance of Red Indians, and that they were all emaciated., unhealthy, and subject to a constant cough. The horses also were raw-boned, and piteously out of condition; and, as the drivers observed, unable to work more than six months; whereas those in the flour-mills are all in good case, and continue their labour for many years.

TURKISH RECIPE FOR COFFEE.

The mode of preparing coffee is simple. The bruised or ground beans are thrown into a small brass or copper saucepan; sufficient water, scalding hot, is poured upon them; and after being allowed to simmer for a few seconds, the liquid IS poured into small cups, without refining or straining. Persons unaccustomed to this mode of making coffee find it unpalatable. Those who have overcome the first introduction prefer it to that made after the French fashion, whereby the aroma is lost or deteriorated. A well-made cup of good Turkish coffee is indeed the most delectable beverage that can be well imagined; being grateful to the senses and refreshingly stimulant to the nerves. Those who have long resided in the East can alone estimate its merits.

Mr. White enlivens his pages with various "good stories," illustrative of Turkish manners or character; which, though possibly somewhat apocryphal, are amusing and Oriental. Here is one descriptive of the way in which the late Sultan met religious bigotry when an objection was made to a proposed cap-peak as an eye-guard for the troops.

THE SULTAN AND THE MUFTY.

. Finding that the troops suffered much inconvenience from the sun, he sent for the Sheikh Islam to Beglerbey Palace. As soon as the venerable Mufty was announced, Mahmoud placed himself with his back to a lofty Southern window,

• through which the midday beams poured with scorching heat. The Mufty having -entered and made his obeisance, Mahmoud, derogating from custom, bade him be seated upon a low stool immediately opposite, and then commenced a lengthened conversation. The sun, meantime, darted its burning rays on the Mufty 'S face; -so that, in order to screen himself, he raised first one hand and then another, ac-

companying this act of self-defence by sundry bodily contortions. " Allah !" exclaimed the Sultan, "what is the matter? You are ill: or is the sight of the Sultan painful to you? Why conceal your eyes? The Padishah is not a basilisk."

Astagferullah ! (God forbid!) The shadow of God is light and life to his slave," rejoined the half broiled Mufty. "Well, then, what ails you?" asked Mahmoud, enjoying the joke extremely. " Ah, ah,Mufty," continued he, "you are waxing old; you have worn out your strength in the Sultan's service. Repose is neces- sary for you." "God forbid, God forbid!" rejoined the Sheikh Islam, taking this as a hint of approaching dismissal; "God forbid, 0 Glory of the Universe! I am as a young lion. Inshallah ! the Sultan's servant will serve him many years"; and so saying, he endeavoured to sit tranquilly. But the heat soon became irresistible; aml at last he sank overpowered upon the floor. The Mabainjee and attendants having hastened to his assistance and revived him, he was removed to a seat in the shade. Then Mahmoud, fixing his penetrating eyes upon the old man' said, "Now, Mufty, what have you to say against the Infidel fronts to the fez? You, who are 'ass young lion,' and sit- ting under the shadow of our presence, you have been unable to look the sun in the face. How dare you thus object to my poor soldiers' eyes being screened? Away, away ! see that I eat no more dirt on this subject. Go!" The Mufty, utterly confounded at this stratagem, withdrew; and within forty-eight hours there appeared a firman permitting the addition of peaks to the fez.

SYMPTOM OF NATIONAL DECLINE.

It is remarked by the bazaar-dealers that, whilst the dress of Turkish ladies becomes every day more simple, that of Armenian women improves in richness. The most costly stuffs, native and foreign, are purchased by the Letter, while the 'former content themselves with chintzes and cottons. This is partly ascribed to fashion; but the truth is, that a vast portion of the wealth of the capital has passed into the coffers of the Armenians; and rayas, being now comparatively secure from confiscation and persecution, do not scruple to adorn their persons in a manner commensurate with their riches. The splendour of the Armenian ladies' toilet, at their marriage-feasts and other ceremonies of rejoicing, cannot be sur- passed; albeit their taste is very questionable, and they are laughed at by Turkish women for their absence of art and fashion, as much as provincial women are criticised by the lionesses of Paris.

ANOTHER SYMPTOM.

Upon an average, the number of Turkish ladies that can read is much less than those of Pena or the Fanar: but those who can read among the former never open d bad book; while among the latter there is scarcely one that ever reads a good work, unless it be the Catechism or Breviary upon certain forced occasions. Of what advantage is it, then, to read or write, if the principal use made of the ac- quirement be to run over trashy collections of degenerate novels? Or of what -benefit is the pen, when it is rarely employed for other purposes than those which 'wither tend to morality nor domestic happiness? It may also be observed, that, -while neither Greek nor Armenian women occupy themselves with literature, .Constantinople can boast of more than one female author. Among the most cele- ,brated of these is Laila Khanum, niece to the above-mentioned Izzet Mollah. Her -poems are principally satirical; and she is held in great dread by her sex, who tremble at her cutting pen. Her divan has been printed, and amounts to three volumes. Leila Khanum is also famed for her songs; which are set to music, and highly popular. Hassena Ithanum, wife of the Hekim Bashy, is likewise re- nowned for the purity and elegance of her style as a letter-writer. This entitles her to the appellation of the Turkish Sevigne.

It will be seen from these extracts, that a good deal of curious matter will be found in Mr. White's volumes, and upon topics that could only be hunted up by a resident, not compelled by press of time to rest satis- fied with the salient points of things. Following a useful fashion, the work is copiously illustrated by cuts, which convey many things more Clearly to the mind than words can do.