THE HIGHLANDS OF TURKEY.* Taw book is in form the
record of three journeys which the author made at somewhat distant intervals,-1853, 1861, and 1865,—in the wilder parts of European Turkey, and to Mount Ida, in Asia ; but it is not a mere book of travels. As the author states in a very modest preface, he excludes " for the most part matters merely personal, together with the ordinary features of Eastern life and daily incidents of travel, with which most persons are by this time acquainted ;" and he discusses "the various questions, historical, antiquarian, and topographical, which such a tour naturally suggests." If we add that the discussion glances not infrequently at politics, we may give some notion of the comprehensive nature of the work. If well executed, it must obviously be of much greater value than an ordinary book of travels could be. Turkey is a country about which there is no lack of miscellaneous observation. What with the notes of travellers in coasting tours or short raids into the interior, the reports • of consuls stationed at every conceivable centre throughout the Sultan's dominions, and the more ambitious labour of scientific travellers and geographers, there is an ample accumulation of means for the study of the Turkish Empire, or almost any distinct portion of it. But scattered information, though ample, is almost as useless as none at all, and the writer who condenses a world of knowledge into small compass, who brings much together bearing on connected points for which libraries would otherwise require to be ransacked, deserves no small praise, and it is to this praise we think Mr. Tozer entitled. Ile is a compiler in the best sense of the term, or rather a compiler and a good deal besides—one who has gone over all the ground himself, testing and supplementing the labours of predecessors, before summing up the discussion for his readers. At the same time, it is no small part of Turkey he has thus dealt with, mainly the southern and western parts of European Turkey, his investigations applying to Turks, Albanians, Bulgarians, Greeks, and Montenegrins, their mixed history and antiquities, and the topographical questions of the classical land they inhabit. As to the latter, the names of Mounts Athos, Ida, and Olympus show how many topics are involved ; and among the most important of the multifarious subjects of another character, we find the monkish life and Greek religion as illustrated by the Mount Athos monasteries, the modern Greek popular ballads, the popular tales of Greece in connection with the theory of the common origin of such tales among the ludo-Aryan races, and the remains of classical superstition as proofs of the true national descent of the modern Greek people from the ancient race. These and other questions the author treats in a grave, clear, judicial style, singularly befitting the attitude he assumes of one who is summing up a great mass of discussion, while he never fails to interest from the skill with which the lead ing points are seized, and all superfluous matter suppressed. The account of the controversy on the origin of the Greeks in the chapter on remains of classical superstitions,--a controversy which has "passed through the same stages as many similar controversies,"—is a fair specimen of the author's powers, and may be worth quoting as the verdict of scholarlike common sense on a great question. After describing the sensation caused by the theory of Professor Fallmerayer, of Munich—that the modern Greeks were of Slavonic descent—and the first counter-explanations suggested, he adds
"Thou came the process of more complete inveatigation. On the one side, there was the undeniable fact that a great proportion of the names of places throughout Greece are to this day Slavonic, showing how permanent must have been the influence of that race, and how wide their dispersion throughout the country. There were also strong passages from the Byzantine writers describing the depopulation of the country and its complete occupation by barbarian Slavonians. Nor could it bo denied that, except in some of the islands, and in other remote places, like tho southern part of the Mores, the distinctive Greek physiognomy was no longer to be found. On the other hand, it was pointed out that notwithstanding all tho differences which those changes implied, the language, the strongest of all tests of national identity, had remained the same, allowing only for the changes which are naturally wrought by time ; and that it was almost wholly free from any traces of Slavonic influence. Groat stress was laid on the extraordinary resemblance of character between the ancient and modern Greeks, and that, too, in points presenting the sharpest contrast to that of the Slavonic races,—their quickness, restlessness, and versatility, accompanied by a corresponding want of perseverance; their intelligence, ingenuity, and thirst for knowledge; their unbounded love of talking and argument ; their elasticity of temperament, fertility of imagination, and irrepressible self-confidence, giving birth to an inordinate ambition ; their personal vanity and selfishness, combined with a strong feeling of patriotism, and resulting in political mistrust, party spirit and intrigue ; their fondness for trickery and sharp practice. Together with those general features, a multitude of minor traits worn adduced more easy to observe than to describe, but implying a remarkable similarity in modes of thought. Lastly, by careful investigation a large number of customs and superstitions were brought to light, which, though hero and there altered or obscured, retained unmistakably the impress of classical times. Tho result of the discussion seems to be the re-establishment of the old belief, only subject to very considerable modifications. No one can doubt that the physical element in the Greek race is very largely derived from Slavonic and other extraneous sources ; but at the same time, the Hellenic blood appears to have retained through the lapse of ages that same power of assimilation, by which in ancient times it amalgamated with itself the largo Pelasgic population of the country. In this way, though physically the modern Greeks may have but a slight, perhaps a very slight, claim to call the ancient Greeks their forefathers, yet in all that really constitutes a people, their character, feelings, and ideas, they are their lineal descendants. This conclusion is now pretty generally received, and is approved, among others, by Mr. Finlay, whose Bever() impartiality adds weight to his authority."
The whole tone of the book is in this vein, giving the sense of trustworthiness in the guide and analyst who has undertaken to do so much for the student and the general reader. It must not be supposed, however, that we undervalue the author's own original notes. Almost all his journeys diverged more or less from the beaten track, and appear to have been made with a deliberation, previous knowledge of the ground, and freedom from incumbrance favourable to quiet observation. Mr. Tozer and a single companion made their way through the most difficult. regions with one attendant, and no help front escorts, whom they rather avoided, protected only by the Sultan's firman and the name of " Europeans," who, it seems, are generally not worth robbing, and are always " inquired after." His example and hint that there are no insuperable obstacles to travelling in the interior will not, it may be hoped, be without their effect.
There are, then, in fact, two kinds of work in the book, the travels in which research and comparison with other's labours are intermingled, and certain portions in which, from their novelty, new information preponderates. Of the former, perhaps the visit to Mount Athos and its monasteries is the most interesting. The subject itself is unique,—a narrow mountain peninsula, close to the track of one of the great highways of commerce, and subject to a Mohammedan power, but occupied with semi-independence for centuries by some Christian monks, now three thousand in number, and forming one of the chief spiritual centres of the Eastern Christian Church. Here there are anomalies enough for a striking volume, the antiquity of the communities themselves, and their connection with the history of the Byzantine Empire, adding to the sources of interest, while the picturesqueness of the scene completes the attraction of the subject. The author spent a considerable time on the mount, passing from one monastery to another, observing the monks during one of their strictest fasts, and participating in one of their great religious festivals. He found very little learning amongst them, though a taste for learning is reviving ; great hospitality and tolerance, the Christianity of Protestants being acknowledged, though much value is set on the greater safety of being in the orthodox Church ; but, nevertheless, a great deal of quiet religious fervour and sincerity. This last was peculiarly manifest in the confessions of the motives which had led the monks to a religious life. The principal motive avowed was the desire of tranquillity, reat of body and soul, encouraged, as the author found, by the want of protection for Christians in other parts of Turkey. There was little thought of any special merit in the way of life led, and it was difficult to discover " whether religious contemplation forms any part of the life of the monks of the present day." The author was far more favourably impressed with the "Retreats," or "Sketes," which are associationsof retreats, than with the convents proper. There is more severe manual labour performed in them, and they appear to be more healthy societies, morally and spiritually. One of them, named the Laura, reminded him of the Laura of Setis in Kingsley's Ilypatia, the life of the fourth century being reproduced on the Holy Mount, as Athos is called, in the nineteenth. The monks, the author observes, delight in their " views," though they rarely speak of them, and only one monastery is so built as not to command a view of the sea. Their silence he thinks worthy of consideration by those who believe "that the ancient Greeks had no appreciation of natural scenery, because it is so little notic„d in their writings." Altogether he pronounces the monasteries a failure, and the value of the life led in them but small, though one cannot help wondering whether " retreats " may not yet be organized for weary men and women in which tranquillity and freedom for contemplation will be gained, though at the expense of monotony and great limitation of the field of labour. Whatever Mount Athos and such corners may be for their inhabitants, the idea of their unique life appeals strongly to the imagination, and might be much missed by the world, were it to be obliterated without any substitute.
Of the more novel parts of the book, the most interesting is perhaps the visit to the country of the Mirdite Albanians, lying immediately to the south of the comparatively well-known Montenegro, but untravelled by Europeans since 1829. We have .not space, however, to do more than direct attention to this description of a rare people, who boast at once their independence of the Sultan, and their alliance with him, and who are Christian in their creed, though Mohammedan and sometimes Pagan in their -manners. Their chief, Bib Doda, a rude and savage highlander, and his castle at Oroach, are exceedingly well painted. The community suffers from the ravages of the " vendetta," but there is another custom which will be more interesting, the existence among them of so curious a practice as exogamy. The habit of carrying off their wives from neighbouring tribes, while they themselves give the women of their own tribe exclusively to others in marriage,—enables the author to illustrate one of the most remark-able stages in the history of marriage. The practice nevertheless -exists in a comparatively mild form. A sum of money is paid -after the capture to the bride's friends, and although the tribe,' preyed upon are Mohammedans and the Mirdites Christians, .religious animosity is not kindled. In fact, neither Mohammedanism nor Christianity, whether Greek or Catholic, has any strong hold -upon the Albanian races.
Altogether we cannot but congratulate the author on his Researches, which may be safely recommended as perhaps the best compendium of information about a large part of Turkey, as well as an agreeable book of travels. We have reserved to the last his political reflections, but we think he is entitled to have his -chief conclusion reported without comment in this place, as that of a clever, studious, and well-informed observer. A strong -despot, he thinks, " a man like Leopold of Belgium, though somewhat stronger in every way," might aspire to govern both the Greek and Slavonic races of Turkey. But left to themselves, these Christian races are too dissimilar to be amalgamated. Though the Bulgarians for a time might submit to the Greeks, whose intellectual superiority they respect, there are other Slavonic races —Serbs, Bosniacs, and Montenegrins,—of a more " unyielding temperament." "Between these and the Greeks the contrast of -character seems too great for community of action to be possible. The one are slow-moving, doggedly determined, fierce in action, and independent to the last degree ; the other quick, subtle, impulsive, overreaching, and too clever by half.' When once a conflict of interests arose, or a struggle for influence, the difference between them would be irreconcilable." " Now," he adds, "when we consider that the territorial line of demarcation between the two races, as well as the distinction of character, is very strongly marked,—Greek communities being comparatively rare northward of Mount Olympus and its parallel, and unmixed Slavonic blood being uncommon south of that line,—the most probable course which things will take in Turkey, if left to themselves, seems to be the division of the peninsula south of the Danube between these peoples, the northern and larger half becoming a Slavonic nation, while Thessaly and Epirus will be united to the kingdom of Greece. If this should happen, Constantinople would almost certainly be made a free port, as the Slaves have no desire to possess it, and it is too important a position to be left in the hands of any one people. The ports of this South Slavonic State would then be Belgrade on the Danube, Salonica on the Agean, and Ragusa or Autivari on the Adriatic. As the capital should enjoy a central situation, and for the sake of safety should be removed from the frontiers, historical associations as well as advantageous position would seem to point either to Sophia, the ancient Sardica, or to Nitsch, the former capital of Servia."
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