SLADE'S TURKEY, GREECE, AND MALTA.
So far as the matter of a book must be gathered from observation, the present volumes are the fruit of neither a very wide range nor a very novel sphere. Mr. SLADE was attached for three years (1834-5-6) to the Mediterranean squadron under Admiral Row- LEY: he sailed from Portsmouth, touched at Malta, and several of the ports of Greece, Asia Minor, and the Greek islands: he also galloped with a Tartar from Smyrna to Constantinople ; resided for some time in the capital of the Ottoman race ; and Unproved this sojourn to the utmost by excursions on land and water. And these are all the opportunities Mr. SLADE possessed for manufac- turing upwards of a thousand pages. The character, means, and processes of' the manufacture, are, however, a more important point than whether the book is made or spontaneous ; and the opinion must be in the main favourable. The character is lively, readable, rapid, a nd pleasant ; varied alter- nately by a fact, a picture, and a disquisition. The means are—a quick eye for all the external and obvious in nature or man ; a ready facility in expressing what is seen, a tolerably extensive course of reading amongst modern classic authors, and a knack of making the most of it—our Lieutenant has been perusing Giulio:a and perhaps VEBTOT in his cabin, and applies their facts about Genoa and Venice, the Greeks, and Turks, and Knights of St. John, with claptrap effect, though not always with a very logical apprehension. The processes of manufacture are simple and vul- gar enough, to those who have the tools and the skill to use them : they consist in touching upon an interesting something about the past, in sketching the most striking things of the pre- sent, and in speculating a good deal upon the future, not unfre- quently in fancying about it. Thus, our traveller's ship, with many others, is detained at Portsmouth by a foul wind; and, as emigration now-a-days is not an unusual thing, some of the delMus are emigrants; which fact furnishes a peg whereon to hang a disquisition upon emigrants, colonization, emigration, and poor-laws. Then comes an account of how he passed his time at Portsmouth, and his mixed feelings at quitting it ; working down Channel against a wind enables him to treat his reader to the discomforts of' a ship in a gale, with a digression to the rare subject of sta sickness ; Lisbon is passed without landing, but Lisbon gives him the means of digressing to the two rival brothers, and of indulging in a long tirade against Liberalism and so forth ; Cape St. Vincent and Trafalgar furnish him with an opportunity of reverting to NELSON and criticizing his critics ; and even when, after some more examples of page-filling made easy, he reaches Malta, one half is certainly made-tip, and much of the other is of a mixed nature—less of things themselves, than of thoughts sug- gested by things. As Mr. SLADE advances further Eastward, there is more of reality and less of absolute head-and-shoulder work than we have thus far noted; but, throughout, the litterateur is as conspicuous as the traveller. At the same time, AUGUSTUS SLADE of the R.N. is a greater dab at literary work than many professed craftsmen : as the phrase is, " ho has plenty to say for himself," and he says it very pleasantly. Of quotations, the book is all before us where to choose: for the point we have specially noted is not felt much, if at ail, in single passages, but requires a continuous examination and often a critical eye to detect. In our extracts, we will, however, as a rule, take the actual rather than the possible; and leaving Malta, Greece, and the Ionian Islands behind, with all their deprecia- tions since the days of Turks and Toryism, let us jump at once to Asia Minor, and see our hero riding Tartar fashion. Tired and exhausted, they have tried to sleep, but in vain—musquitoes forbade it; they therefore pushed on soon after midnight. The cool air produced the drowsiness so much wished for in the khan ; but winch now proved very distressing, by the proximity to a fall it occasioned every ten minutes. Nightmares kept our horses company : our people as- sumed all kinds of phantasmagotian shapes, now appeating as a party of Kurds, charging about with Achillean lances, now a group of Houynolims dancing on their hind-legs. Should a piece of water happen; to be a head, as you thus rouse up from a doze, you view it as through the effect of mirage; in alarm you fancy yourself on the edge of a vast lake, and about to ride into it. This, the overpowering inclination to sleep—and the Tartars equally suffer—re:ea- eioned by the amble and the soft night air, is the most painful part of a Tartar lourney. If unable to resist it, you may tell your surroyee to ride alongside and hold one arm. Should be be similarly affected and pull you off, the fault is his, not yours. The morning breeze fanned soothingly our foreheads; the atmosphere was I.mpregnated with myrtle odour ; birds warbled, cicalas chirped, the tints of (1. awn played along the purple.heathered slopes. We almost wished the earth o Slop, and not continue rolling on toward the luminary that would soon make taperer a cabin to the sweet face of Nature. This day I tired uncommonly—the effect of riding forty-eight hours with little intermission, after a quiet ship life. The horses, too, were weak, owing ro the heat, and often came down. 1 doubt if any continuance reconciles a person to the fatigue. To bear it tolerably, one need be a Tartar or a cavalry- man. I mention the latter, became the feat of our countryman, Colonel Dundas, who rode from Constantinople to Belgrade in less than five days, has few parallels. The custom in Turkey of entering a town or of approaching cafene4 at speed, makes the uninitiated traveller feel worse all over. Haidee hau ! Allah ho ! is the cry : at the sound, the horses seem to acquire new life ; they prick their ears and gallop away, amidst the rattling of baggage and the cracking of whips, while your aches, which had made even the motion of an amble seem intolerable, derive fresh intensity every second, until at length you gain a tolerable idea of the rack. As we .isceniled the brow of a bill, I per- ceived, at the extremity of a long descent, a ((Tench. Grateful sight! The noble plane-tree overspreading it waved invitingly cool; but—to reach it ! looked imploringly at NIustapha. Hardhearted, hard-bottomed man ! he heeded me not, his Tartar honour was concerned. liaidee hate ! away we started, and drops of agony rolled off my forehead. I thought since of the feat with complacency : our keeping the jades in a gallop down the hill, Alus- tapha shouting at the top of his limp ; our charging up beneath the said tree; our reining-in right beside the benches; an the caredjis and Albumins of the establishment running out to aid its to dismount, and the company stioking their beards as if in admiration of our chivalions deportment.
An Eastern barber is a subject as old as hairs, and has been treated often enough ; yet lie looks new under Mr. SLADE'S hands. We not only see the process, but we feel it in fancy.
Landing, we stretched our legs a few minutes on the quay, then went into a c4roth to enjoy the Oliental luxury of being shaved. I wish another name designated the arliste ; it conveys tio idea of his talent, nor of the services he renders, nor of the pleasure you experience. Having given by word and ges- ture the usual courteous welcome, he places you on a bench. One attendant brings you a chiborique, while another prepares coffee. Nothing is done in fi Imlay in Turkey, except cutting Off heads. No business or pleasure can ad- vance without the pipe; its frier:nit clouds seem essential to temper the sun- shine of existence. %Slide you amuse yourself with one, the master turns down your collar, rolls up your sleeves, and envelops you in spotless linen, almost without your consciousness. Thus prepared, you resign your head into his hands. lie places it in the right position over a lin ge basin, and turns a strewn of hot water on it from a metal vessel which is suspended above to a movable rod. With his long, nimble lingers, which leave no pore unvisited, he runs over and cleanses the surface of the cranium, face, and neck, with surprising dexterity ; then laying first one cheek on his knee, then turning over the other cheek, he manipulates with a woman's softness of touch, and soaps, and shaves, the steel passing smoothly over the skin, and sleep naming, till you feel all over new and fresh and bright. Such is an Eastern barber. If, in addition, a tooth aches, he will pull it out ; if your head aches, he will cup you; if your side aches, he will leech you.
Upon the subject of the non-contagion of the plague, our author has some powerful remarks, and some striking facts, which are well worth attention. They are, however, too long for us to quote; but we will give a sketch of sonic plague feelings.
One must not be surprised at any sudden revulsion of feeling, or at any strange act which may he witnessed during the plague panic. Strangers err. tainly express astonishment, but they are not understood. A nntu might slay his father, Of a woman eat her child, without either the oneor the other exciting attention. Every trait of heartlessness which is related as haviiig occurred in any noted pestilence, as that of Athens, or that of Florence, is repeated in the Levant ; but, I blush to say it, only by the Christians. Let the pinions of the monster ii ip in the distance, and instantly every Oriental Christian's heart its turned into stone. Revolting aeltishneas becomes the order of the day ; sym- pithy is called folly ; assistance to a fellow-creature is termed suicidal. Let a 111■10 be impended, his family, instead of being a solace, increase his pangs: his wife takes her children by the hands and leaves the house; his servants abandon him, and he is left under the care of some wretch whom the plague has spared at the hospital. The services which love, honour, duty, and reli. gion shrink from, are obtained for a shilling a-day. Should a son perchance have the courage to remain in the house with a dying parent, he is cited as s prodigy ; the act is styled heroic; it is deemed worthy of national recompense. But there are exceptions : a bright, a heavenly ray is thrown across this gloomy picture by tile Roman Catholic priests, who attend the Frank plague hospital at Pero. Their protitssed object is to smooth the path of departing souls; but they do every office besides, which the meekest Cluistianity, the purest love of mankind can dictate. They rheas the patients' sores, they nurse them, they play with them when recovering, they embrace them when dying. Voluntarily, without recompense and without distinction, 410 these holy men thus beautifully serve their God. The same two had lived there for many years: several hot plagues bad passed over them scatheless; and they might well have deemed themselves under tile special protection of a good angel : but this time Padre Rosario received his reward. The evening of August 24th, I conversed with hint at the door of the hospital ; the next dav he fell ill, and on the •-Z.3th he was no more. Another " brother " immediately took his place. See the Mussulmans of all clasaes; see with what Christ-like charity they behave. We may lament their want of precaution, but we must admire the devotion with which they meet the destroyer, as well as envy the attention shown to each other : the delirium of pain is soothed by the tenderest offices; the corpse is washed by the hands of affection before it is coniigned to the grave. IL.d science seconded their goad feelings, plague would long since have ceased to be an object of alarm : nhereas it is still nearly as flinch dreaded and as little known as it was one hundred years since —thanks to guarani loc.
POLITICAL ECONOMY OF LIEUTENANT SLADE.
Fires, caused so frequently ii, the East by the practice of building of wood, are usefill. They have proved the stimulus of Turkish industry, the chief aliment of the arts. Without their operation, the trades would often remain in stagnation, and the artisans languish without employment. So satisfied is the Oriental with the btalu Teo, so indifferent to improvement, fashion having no charms for him and society not existing to induce competition, so given also to hoarding money, that without an absolute necessity he would rarely buy new things, unless it be slaves and jewels. His pipes, his saddles, his furs, his sofas, would last him his life, u.nd be handed down to his son. How diffi.trent then would be the aspect of the bazaars ! But a C011fidgC,NIOn now and then sets all things right; gives old clothes and furniture to the proper element, toots plague out of corners, unfolds purses, animatca trade, and restores the equilibrium of circulation. In all countries destruction of various kinds of property is useful to the mass, but in the East it absolutely conduces to its wellbeing, by compelling expenditure. Nor is the individual loss equal to what we might suppose. The furniture of a Turkish house is that, nearabouts, of a tent. Excluding the sofa, it might be carried away on a couple of houses: a few metal dishes to eat out of with the fingers, a metal washing-basin and jug, a few glasses, and a couple of sherbet decanters, with a few quilted coverlids, and two or three rugs—roihi tout : painted wainscoats, curtains, and the sofa runuing round three sides of the apartment, give a finish and an air of elegance. Man requires no more. The shops and wares are in the bazaars, which are fire-proof. A bo..itt of travels would be very incomplete without some samples of official blunders, of one kind or other ; and this es- sential is not wanting in Mr. SLADE'S volumes. Take a few in a small way.
ECONOMY AT MALTA.
A dock was commenced, but remains half-finished, having been abandoned on account of expense. A slight sum would complete it. For want of one, we are obliged to send home every ship which gets ashore with the slightest damage, as we are not allowed now to " heave down." The inconvenience to the service may be conceived.
EQUIVOCAL RHETORIC.
Lord N—, in his first proclamation to the Ionians, informed them that thcir virtues were their own, their vices those of their masters. Which of their masters his Excellency meant, whether the Venetians or the English, 1 d3 not know ; but the Cot fuyotes chose to interpret the sentence in our favour.
CONSISTENCY.
We maintain a clergyman at Constantinople, but we have no place in which he can officiate. All other nations have churches or chapels; even the Ame- ricans have one. The Turks, in consequence, think we have no reliyion. Protestants have increased of late at Constantinople. We had a chapel once, but 1 believe it was converted into a stable.
In home politics our gallant Lieutenant is a genuine Tory, and be is still more rabid in tile East. Like GIBBON, he would not even give up the Inquisition ; the Janissaries, he says, were the stay of Turkey; the present Sultan is a silly reformer, miscalcu- lating ellen mstances, means, arid ends ; his reforms are merely bad changes—bosh—nothing. Our author is also afflicted with the Russuphobia in a high degree; and has not, what many have, a consistency in his phrensy. Sometimes he is enraged against the Sultan, for permitting or encouraging contemptuous ill-treat- ment of Englishmen : then he boils over with distempered thoughts that the Euxine is shut against us ; and is for forcing the Dardanelles, showing fight to all corners, and giving both Turks and Russians a taste of our metal. Then he gets lugu- brious over the vast improvement of the Russian marine within these four years, and indulges in some bitter, and, we make no doubt, very just remarks, upon the disgust and ill feelings which the abuse of nautical patronage by the Admiralty creates in our Navy. Anon, he looks at Turkey with a more searching eye ; holding that she is in the last stage of decrepitude and
decay, beyond restoration or reconstruction ; that only (the old Greek story) a union of the Western nations can oppose Russia, but that nothing can uphold Turkey ; in short, that she must succumb to Russia—it is her hhismet—ber fate ; though he con- cludes his book by recommending the only effective course of policy open to us—that of cultivating the friendship and strength- ening the power of the ruler of Egypt.
Previous page
