Imperial Invitation—Disagreeable Adventure—Executed Criminal—Efficacy of Wayside Executions—Tardy Conversions—Mistaken Humanity—Summary Mode of Execution—The Palace of Asmè Sultane—Entrance of the Harem—Costume of the Slaves—Nazip Hanoum—Ceremonious Reception—The Adopted Daughter—Costume of the Ladies of the Seraï—Beauty of the Slaves—Extraordinary Arrangement—Rejected Addresses—The Imperial Lover—Sacredness of Adoption in Turkey—Romantic Correspondence—Ladies of the Household—The Mother of the Slaves—Peroussè Hanoum—Crowded Audience—The Imperial Odalique—Music of the Harem—The New Pet—The Kislar-Agha—The “Light of the Harem”—The Poetical Sultan—Indisposition of the Sultana—The Palace Gardens—The Imperial Apartments—The Dancing Girl—Reluctant Departure—Ballad by Peroussè Hanoum.
Having received an invitation to wait upon Asmè Sultane, the elder sister of the Sultan, at her summer palace, I started from Pera early one morning accompanied by a friend, to obey the Imperial summons.
The weather was beautiful; the great Cemetery was crowded with loungers, and the road leading to “The Sweet Waters” thronged with horsemen. The spring flowers were bursting, and the young leaves trembling in the fresh breeze; and, as we passed on, amid sunshine and salutations, I forgot the purpose of my errand in the enjoyment of the glad scene around me.
But, unhappily for the continuance of these joyous feelings, the authorities had just secured a band of Sclavonian housebreakers, and, having bestowed upon them a very summary species of civil drum-head court-martial, had hung a dozen of them the previous day in the outskirts of the city. Of this uncomfortable fact we were entirely ignorant; and the shock may consequently be conceived when, on descending a steep pitch into the narrow street of Ortakeuÿ, the arabadjhe suddenly exclaimed—“A man hanged! A man hanged! Hide your eyes, ladies.” But it was too late. As the carriage turned the corner of the road I had caught sight of the suspended criminal, and I continued to gaze upon him, fascinated by the horror of the spectacle. This was only the second time that I had looked upon death, and it was now before me in so revolting a shape that I felt as though my life-blood were curdling about my heart!
We had come upon the victim in so instantaneous a manner that the sleeve of my dress almost touched his arm, as he hung from the projecting spout of a house immediately beside our path. He was a tall, powerful man, bare-headed, and clad in a white jacket and trowsers, fastened about his waist with a scarlet shawl. But what made the exhibition tenfold more horrible was the fact that the rope had slipped during his dying struggles, and that his head was bent forcibly backward. I shall never forget it; and I verily believe that I should have remained without the power of turning away my eyes had not my companion aroused me forcibly from my lethargy; when, yielding to the heart-sickness which crept over me, I fortunately fainted, and thus escaped all further suffering from the disgusting spectacle.
I am not prepared to deny that these wayside executions may be very efficacious in preventing the spread of crime; it is a subject on which I am not competent to offer an opinion; but I am enabled from my own painful experience to decide upon their extreme inconvenience, to use no stronger term, to those who do not require so frightful a warning. To encounter death in a shape of violence upon the very path of the living, and in the midst of men busied in their daily avocations—to know that the narrow space in which the victim is suspended, surrounded by objects of barter, has been let out on hire for this horrible purpose—that a bargain has been made between the government and the shopkeeper for the use of the doorway leading into his dwelling—there is altogether something so revolting in the whole system that I cannot think of it without a shudder; and thus was every avenue into Pera closed for three days against those to whom such sights were painful; for the same ghastly object presented itself at each village leading from the city: while the body of the ringleader of the band, decapitated, and deprived of its right hand, was exposed in one of the public squares.
One of the gang saved himself by becoming at one and the same time a True Believer and King’s Evidence; the only individual of the association who would consent to accept life on such terms. The remainder, kept in ignorance, according to the Turkish custom, of the precise moment of their execution, were allowed to frequent the taverns and coffee-houses accompanied by a guard, during several hours, and to drink and converse freely with those whom they happened to meet there; when suddenly their career of intemperance was checked; they were halted in front of the house which had been fixed upon for their reception, the fatal noose affixed, a basket placed beneath their feet to be subsequently drawn away, and in another instant they were launched into Eternity, while the accents of revelry were yet upon their lips! As the Turks do not admit the efficacy of a tardy and terror-wrung repentance, they consider this mode of execution to be the most humane which they can adopt; and, as the criminal is flattered to the last with the hope of pardon, he thus escapes much of the premature suffering attendant upon a violent death.
In about an hour after we had escaped from the frightful spectacle I have described, we arrived at the gate of the Palace—an extensive and handsome edifice on the border of the Bosphorus; where a guard of soldiers and a throng of servants were to be traversed ere we could reach the staircase leading to the ante-room in which we waited, while our presence was announced to the princess. As Her Highness was in the bath when we entered, we were detained a considerable time in this apartment, surrounded by the officers of the household, and the principal negroes of the harem; a delay at which I rather rejoiced, as I had not altogether recovered from the effects of my morning’s adventure.
At length we were requested to move forward, and, attended by half a dozen individuals of the Imperial suite, we traversed several apartments neatly matted, but quite destitute of furniture; until at the extremity of a long gallery, lighted on either side by twelve spacious windows, commanding the channel on the one hand, and the palace gardens on the other, we reached the lofty doors of the harem, which were flung back at the first signal of our attendants, and as instantly closed again when we had crossed the threshold.
A train of female slaves, dressed in the most gaudy furniture chintzes, received us as we entered, and led us across a lordly hall lined with white marble, and supported by numerous pillars of the same material; through whose open doors we had a delicious view of the extensive gardens, with their fantastic flower-beds, stately fountains, and gleaming terraces. Nazip Hanoum, the adopted daughter of the Princess, met us in the centre of the hall, and welcomed us most gracefully; after which, taking a hand of each, she conducted us to her own apartment, a charming room overlooking the water, and entered from a gallery that surrounded the principal saloon. Having relieved us of our veils, and seated us on the cushions beside her, she clapped her hands, and about a score of slaves entered with coffee and sweetmeats.
The coup d’œil was beautiful, as the fair girls, not one of whom could have been more than twenty years of age, and who were all exceedingly lovely, prepared to hand the refreshments. The princess had given orders that we should be received with all possible ceremony: and the display was consequently most beautiful. One slave held a weighty vase, suspended from three silver chains, in which stood the coffee; another bore a large gold salver, covered with cups and holders of costly enamel, whence depended a dazzling drapery of gold tissue wrought with pearls, and richly fringed: a third carried a gilded tray bearing vases of cut crystal containing a variety of exquisite sweetmeats, confined beneath golden covers enriched with gems; a fourth held the salver on which stood a range of glass goblets of beautiful form and workmanship, filled with water—all, in fine, were laden with some object of cost and luxury; and their attitudes were so graceful, their faces so lovely, and their costume so striking, that I regretted their departure, when, after we had partaken of the rose-scented jelly and perfumed mocha, they slowly withdrew.
Nazip Hanoum, the favourite of Asmè Sultane, was purchased by Her Imperial Highness when she was only a few months old, together with her mother, who died while she was yet an infant. Her influence over the mind of her illustrious protectress is unlimited, and, had she been really born “beneath the purple,” she could not have commanded greater liberty or consideration than she now enjoys. Her features are very regular, and even handsome; but her beauty is destroyed by the immense number of freckles that cover her face and bosom. Her eyes are a deep rich blue, with long dark lashes, and her hair is of a fine golden auburn; but the great charm of Nazip Hanoum exists in her extreme gracefulness; she has not a movement which is not elegant; and her playful vivacity and great natural shrewdness render her a delightful companion. Her voice is low, and sweet; and her ringing laughter the very echo of joyousness.
Her costume was an odd admixture of the European and the Oriental. She wore trowsers of pale blue cotton flowered with yellow; and an antery of light green striped with white, and edged with a fringe of pink floss silk; while her jacket, which was the production of a Parisian dress-maker, was of dove-coloured satin, thickly wadded, and furnished with a deep cape, and a pair of immense sleeves, fastened at the wrists with diamond studs. But the most striking feature of the costume in the Imperial Palaces is the head-dress. Nothing can be imagined more hideous! A painted handkerchief is bound tightly round the brow, and secured by jewelled bodkins: the back hair is crèpé until it becomes one huge dishevelled mass, when it is traversed across the top of the head by a corner of the handkerchief: a number of slender plaits of false hair hang down the back, frequently differing very materially from the colour of the natural tresses: the front locks are cut square across the forehead, and left a couple of inches longer at the sides, where they lie quite flat, and are stuck full of roses, or gems; or overhung by the deep fringe of the handkerchief, wrought to resemble a wreath of flowers. Some few among the ladies of the Imperial Seraïs fasten immense bunches of artificial ringlets under their yashmacs when they drive out, but they are as yet sufficiently uncommon to be remarkable. To this head-dress, such as I have described it, Nazip Hanoum had added, in common with the other females of the household, a star and crescent of sticking-plaister between her eyebrows, which were stained a deep black, and destroyed the natural softness of her expression. But her hands and arms were lovely! White, and round, and soft, as though they had been moulded in wax; and her slight elastic figure looked as if it had been modelled by the Graces.
Asmè Sultane is celebrated throughout the capital for the beauty of her slaves; and his Sublime Highness has thrice demanded Nazip Hanoum, but has been thrice refused; an occurrence so unprecedented in the East, that he has finished by persuading himself that he is actually attached to the lively girl who has dared to play the part of a modern Roxalana, and to defy his power.
His first rejection was treated by the Sultan as the wayward whim of a spoiled beauty, and he even condescended to expostulate with Nazip Hanoum; but his advice had no more effect upon her than his preference; and for the first time in his life, the “Brother of the Sun” and “Emperor of the Earth” found himself slighted by a mere girl.
The evil was, however, without remedy, for, as the adopted daughter of an Imperial Princess, the liberty of the young Hanoum was sacred; and his Sublime Highness was fain to content himself with the anticipation of future success; but, when a second solicitation brought with it only a second repulse, despite all the costly gifts and lover-like courtesies of the preceding twelve months, the enraged Sultan took up the affair in another tone, and accused the Princess of having instigated her favourite to this unheard-of rebellion against his sacred will.
The Sultana defended herself with all the energy of innocence, and even consented to further his suit by her counsels and persuasion, but no success followed her efforts. Nazip Hanoum preferred the partial liberty of the harem of her protectress, and the comparative independence of her present position, to the gilded captivity of the Imperial Seraglio, and the fleeting favour of its lord; and she consequently continued firm.
The Sultan, enraged beyond endurance at this unexpected perseverance, left the palace in displeasure, and even refused to see his sister, whom he still persisted in believing to be the principal cause of his defeat. But monarchs are mere men where blighted feeling or wounded vanity make themselves felt: and Mahmoud, when he retreated to his gilded saloons at Beglierbey, shared the fate of his kind. He became convinced that he really loved Nazip Hanoum, and that her possession was necessary to his happiness; and, determined not to be thwarted a third time, he continued deaf to the earnest and humble prayers of the Princess that he would restore to her the light of his favour, and the glory of his presence; and actually refused during three long weeks to be accessible to her entreaties; when, feeling convinced that this display of his sublime wrath must have produced a powerful effect on the refractory beauty, he once more bent his course to the palace of the Princess.
A rich gift to Nazip Hanoum announced her pardon; and when she had played and sung, seated on a cushion at his feet, and he had witnessed the graceful movements of the dancing girls, and partaken of the perfumed sherbet of his Imperial Sister, he led the young beauty into the gardens of the palace, where she was compelled to listen for the third time to his thriftless suit. But, alas! for the lordly lover—the reflections of the past year had only strengthened her resolution, and she continued as unmoved by his protestations as she had been by his displeasure; and thus, Mahmoud returned once more to his Seraglio as unsuccessful as ever.
Such is the sacredness of adoption among the Turks.
I have already mentioned that the Palace of Ortakeuÿ fronts the Bosphorus, from which it is only separated by a broad path or terrace of marble, extending along a considerable portion of the channel, and only broken at intervals by the projection of the different palaces and dwellings that are built against the edge of the stream. While we were conversing with Nazip Hanoum, my attention was attracted by a peculiar signal rising from this terrace, and evidently intended for the ear of some fair inhabitant of the Seraï. As no answer was returned, the shrill wild sound was repeated, when Nazip Hanoum rose quietly from her cushions, and throwing back a small door which opened in the midst of the lattice-work of one of the windows, demanded, in a tone of pretty peevishness, why she was thus persecuted, when she had announced her resolution not to receive another letter. The reply to this appeal, brief as it was, was conclusive, for, shrugging her shoulders with a coquettish gesture of impatience, she flung from the casement a painted handkerchief secured by a silken cord attached to the window-frame, and after the delay of a moment, drew it back, and took a letter from amid its folds, which, having read with a blush and a smile, she thrust into the shawl that was bound about her waist, with all the composure of a person to whom such an occurrence was no novelty.
We shortly afterwards proceeded to wait upon all the principal ladies of the household, who occupied apartments opening from the same gallery as that of Nazip Hanoum. The first whom we visited was the mother of the slaves, a serious, stately woman, of about fifty years of age, dressed in an antery and trowsers of black cashmere, very silent, and even sad-looking, whom we quitted as soon as we had satisfied her curiosity; for the atmosphere of her stateliness did not appear congenial to our light-hearted conductress.
We were next introduced to Peroussè Hanoum, the private secretary of the Princess, who had been a favourite Odalique of Sultan Selim; a woman remarkable for her talents both natural and acquired; and a celebrated poet. She was seated upon her sofa, surrounded by papers; lying confusedly in heaps, or tied up in squares of clear muslin; and engaged in writing on the lid of a chest inlaid with mother-of-pearl. She was still handsome, with delicate features, and fine eyes, but disfigured by the dye with which she had made her eyebrows meet across her nose. Had I been able to converse with her, without the interposition of a third person, I am sure that I should have been delighted, for she was all energy and enthusiasm. Her room was crowded with Turkish and Greek women, squatted on cushions all over the floor; and close beside her, with her pale cheek resting upon her knees, sat one of the ladies of the Imperial Seraglio, who having suffered severely from a protracted indisposition, had asked and obtained permission to spend a few weeks in the harem of the Princess, by whom she had been brought up. She was a lovely girl of eighteen or nineteen, very richly dressed, but evidently broken-hearted. Whenever she was addressed, the tears rushed into her large dark eyes, and every reply appeared to be an effort. The gilded Palace of her Imperial Master had evidently been a mere prison to her; and you read a tale of blighted hope and spirit-sickness upon every line of her pallid face.
While we were in the apartment of the secretary, Nazip Hanoum, at the request of the fair and faded visitor, sent a slave for her zebec, and played and sang with considerable sweetness and execution: after which the gifted Peroussè Hanoum read one of her poems, which elicited such rapturous applause, that I asked and obtained a transcript of it, and having caused it to be translated into French by one of the Professors of the Military College, I have since rendered it into English verse for the gratification of my readers.
We spent a considerable time in the apartment of Peroussè Hanoum; and after having paid a number of less interesting visits, we finally entered the principal room of the Harem. Here we found a sweet girl of about thirteen years of age, lying upon a pile of cushions, having sprained her ancle a day or two previously, while dancing before the Sultan. She was amusing herself by nursing a very fine infant, a recent purchase of the Princess, who had bought both it and its mother, at the earnest request of the latter; who, having lost three husbands in the space of eighteen months, and being left entirely destitute, had profited by the well-known partiality of her Imperial Highness for children, to become an inmate of the Palace. The little girl was the pet and plaything, not only of Asmè Sultane, but of the whole harem; and was handed from one to the other, and caressed by all; while the mother did nothing but eat, sleep, and say her prayers; which latter ceremony she performed with most edifying ostentation.
What a bevy of fair girls occupied that apartment! What eyes, and lips, and teeth, were grouped together, as they sat clustered like bees upon their cushions, with their delicate fingers clasped together, and almost making their idleness look graceful! Here and there one lay fast asleep, with her cheek pillowed upon her hand, and a smile upon her lips, as though her last waking glance had been at the silver mounted mirror which lay beside her, and her last thought one of triumph at her young beauty.
A few were yet settling their cashemere girdles, and arranging their unwieldy head-dresses for the day, after their return from the bath; while one laughing maiden, who appeared to possess the talent in an extraordinary degree, was cutting court-plaister into various fantastic shapes, and dispensing them to her numerous applicants, by whom they were immediately affixed to their carefully-tinted eyebrows. The Kislar-Agha, meanwhile, walked in and out of the apartment, rolling the whites of his large eyes, and pouting his thick lips in silence, totally unmoved by the mirth and laughter going on in every direction; and scarcely replying to the questions and comments of those who were courageous enough to address him.
But, although there were many prettier women than herself in the party, Nazip Hanoum was the “Light of the Harem!” All gave way before her; her graceful playfulness, her joyous laughter, her innocent caprices, were alike received with smiles and approbation; and she appeared to be a general favourite, and to justify by her amiability the measureless affection of her Imperial patroness. We were shortly joined by Peroussè Hanoum, who accompanied one of the slaves on the zebec, while she sang, or rather recited, one of her own compositions; after which the fair favourite played the theorbo, and, while another of the party beat the tambourine, half a dozen voices pealed out the ballads of the Sultan, who is also a poet, and who frequently enjoys the happiness of listening to his own productions, from the lips of the fair household of his Imperial Sister.
The part taken in this concert by Nazip Hanoum and the Secretary was intended as a high compliment to their Frank visitors; for the Turkish ladies hold it as a degradation to exhibit a talent which is made an object of speculation and profit by hired performers.
Her Imperial Highness having left the bath with a violent and painful headache, we were requested to make a tour of the gardens, while she lay down to endeavour to obtain some relief: and accordingly, conducted by Nazip Hanoum, and followed by a dozen of her companions, we sallied forth by a door opening from the hall upon a stately terrace of white marble; and I laughed most heartily when, on emerging from the palace, the sprightly favourite shouted to the gardeners who were at work on all sides, “Do not look—we are coming out;” and, as a matter of course, every one of them turned towards her to utter their assurance of obedience, while away ran the laughing girl to gather the gayest flowers of the parterre, as an offering to the Frank ladies.
One fountain which we passed struck me as being peculiarly elegant; the stream, falling from an artificial eminence, filled successively eleven basins of white marble, gradually increasing in size, until the last formed a noble sheet of water immediately under the palace windows. The terraces were shaded by stately trees; and a gaily gilded kiosk, superbly painted in fresco, throughout the whole of its interior, occupied the highest point of the grounds.
Having completed our survey of the gardens, and the Princess being still invisible, we proceeded, under the same guidance, to visit the state apartments, which were situated immediately over the harem.
The grand saloon, built above the marble hall, was the very embodiment of Eastern splendour. Its magnificently-painted dome was supported by forty porphyry pillars with gilt capitals; its walls were lined with plate glass; its doors veiled by silken draperies; its floor covered with Persian carpets; and the lattices which veiled the entrance to the women’s apartments richly carved and gilt. At either extremity of the saloon, whose form was a fine oval, a noble flight of marble steps led downwards to the harem; and along the glittering balustrade were scattered groups of slaves, awaiting the summons of their Imperial Mistress, and clad in the gaudiest colours.
The morning-room of the Sultana was flooded with sunshine, and opened upon the terrace: the carpet, covering the floor, the cushions which were piled beneath the windows and the hangings of the walls, were all of the purest white, ornamented with wreaths of roses; while the roof, on which the Orientals universally display most elaborate taste, was of a deep purple colour, ribbed and studded with golden stars.
The reception-room was in a different style: sombre, magnificent, and almost cloistral in its decorations; heavy with gilding, and gloomy with cornices; while the sleeping chamber, hung with crimson and blue satin, and scattered over with perfumes and objects of taste, had an air of comfort and inhabitation almost English.
But the most elegant suite of rooms was that appropriated to the Sultan. A saloon whose thirty windows were hung with purple velvet fringed with gold; whose sofa cushions were formed of glittering tissue; and whose walls were rich with plate-glass and gilding; whose floor was crowded with objects of vertù, and whose every table was scattered over with gems, opened into the Imperial sleeping-room, whose European bed, hung with flowered muslin, and decorated with knots of coloured ribbon, contrasted cheerfully with the heavy magnificence of the saloon and its elaborate draperies; while the mangal of wrought silver, richly gilt, and the collection of jewelled toys which filled the two recesses at the end of the apartment, brought back the imagination to the gorgeous East.
Incense-burners of gold, studded with precious stones; ring-trays wreathed with rubies; a miniature of the Sultan himself in a frame thickly set with diamonds, and resting upon a cushion of white satin; a toilette of fillagreed silver; a chocolate cup of enamel studded with pearls: and a gilt salver, covered with watches of all sizes and shapes, were part of the tempting array. But I was more delighted by a Koràn, and a manuscript collection of prayers, written by the Sultan, and splendidly illuminated. Both were bound in gold, with the Imperial cipher wrought upon each corner in brilliants, while a border was formed round the outer edges of the volumes, of passages from the holy writings, indifferent coloured jewels.
The private withdrawing-room was not remarkable in any respect, if, indeed, I except the circumstance of its sofa and curtains being trimmed with fluted gauze ribbon, which, to an European eye, produced a most extraordinary effect. But, upon the whole, I saw less inconsistency and bad taste exhibited in the arrangements of the numerous apartments that I traversed, than I had prepared myself to expect.
While we were making our tour of the palace, orders had been given by the Princess that the dancing girls should prepare themselves to exhibit their skill for our amusement; but, unfortunately, in the excess of her graciousness, she had resolved on treating us with a view of their new dresses and their new dances, both intended to be European; and assuredly such costumes were never before imagined. I will give the description of one—it will suffice to afford an idea of the whole. A dress of blue muslin, elaborately ornamented with bows of pink and scarlet ribbon, was drawn round the throat with a cord of green silk, which hung down the back and terminated in two heavy tassels; the petticoat was long and scanty, and was trimmed with two narrow flounces, edged with white satin; black leather shoes of the coarsest description, gloveless hands, a sash of pink and silver that swept the floor; a necklace of pearl; and a head-dress at least a yard across, where a mass of false hair was smothered in flowers enough to decorate a supper table, and carefully selected of all the colours of the rainbow, completed the costume; and I need not expatiate on its effect. But the admiration which it excited in the harem was immense; and the really beautiful girl who was the fortunate wearer of the motley garb appeared to consider herself raised above mortality, as she listened to the comments of the throng by whom she was surrounded.
The male dresses were in perfect keeping with that which I have endeavoured to describe; and the whole had found such favour in the eyes of the Sultana, that she only tolerated the Turkish costume on ordinary occasions.
As the day was waning to a close, and the distance to Pera was considerable, I was reluctantly obliged to decline the honour of dining in the palace, and awaiting until evening the appearance of the Princess, whose continued indisposition still confined her to her apartment; and accordingly, despite the remonstrances of our kind and courteous entertainers, I took my leave of the fair favourite and her talented friend; bearing with me an invitation from Her Imperial Highness to repeat my visit at no distant period, when she might be able to receive and converse with me; and I then returned to Pera with an aching head and dazzled eyes.
I subjoin the little ballad of Peroussè Hanoum, which I have rendered almost literally into English verse. I could have wished that it had been somewhat more Oriental in its character, but its quaintness is at least sufficiently characteristic.
BALLAD.
Kahaitchana—The Barbyses—The Valley of the Sweet Waters—Imperial Procession—National Interdict—Picturesque Scene—The Princess Salihè and her Infant—Forbearance of the Sultan—The Toxopholites—Imperial Monopoly—Passion of the Sultan for Archery—Record-Columns—The Odalique’s Grave—The Lost One—Azmè Sultane—Imperial Courtesy—A Drive through the Valley.
The loveliest spot in the neighbourhood of Constantinople is undeniably Kahaitchana; called by the Franks the “Valley of the Sweet Waters,” a name as appropriate as it is poetical.
The sparkling Barbyses takes its rise amid the rich vegetation of the valley, and traverses its greensward like a silver thread. As a river it is inconsiderable, but, being the only stream of any size within many miles of the capital, it is an object of great enjoyment and admiration.
The valley itself, like that of Rasselas, is shut in on all sides by tall and arid hills, amid which it nestles so fresh, and green, and sunny, that you feel at once that it was destined by nature for holyday uses. Need I say that the Sultan has here both a summer palace and a kiosk? There exists no pretty spot near Stamboul where he has them not; but the Palace of Kahaitchana is a favourite retreat, where he generally retires to escape from the coil and cares of the capital, whenever he can contrive to wring a day’s leisure from the stern grasp of public duty. The ride from Pera is delightful: the air of the hills is so elastic that it seems to instil new life into your pulses; and the descent into the valley is so picturesque, that, despite your previous enjoyment, you are anxious to arrive in the lovely spot which lies, bathed in sunshine, at your feet.
A brighter day never shone from the heavens than that on which I joined a party who were bound for Kahaitchana. I had been indisposed for several days, and was too weak to indulge myself with a gallop; and accordingly, comfortably nestled amid the cushions of my araba, I suffered the more joyous and healthful of my friends to fly past me, and leisurely pursued my way to the valley.
As I descended the hill, I saw a procession of carriages issuing from the palace court, and making their way along the opposite bank of the stream, which forms the boundary of the Imperial pleasure grounds. A mounted guard stopped me for an instant at the foot of the height, but suffered me to pass after the delay of a moment, as he had received no orders to prevent the entrance of any Frank lady by that road; the interdict being confined to Greeks, Armenians, and Jewesses. Simply requesting me, therefore, to stop my carriage, as the Imperial family passed, he desired my arabajhe to proceed. I obeyed without hesitation; and, as the river is only a few feet in width, I had an excellent view of the distinguished party.
An open carriage, drawn by four fine bay horses, each led by a groom, contained the two younger sons of the Sultan, the palace dwarf, and the principal negro of the Sultan’s household. The infant prince is a sweet-looking child, with bright eyes and rosy cheeks, and appears healthy enough to be the son of a peasant. Four bullock-carriages followed, and among their veiled occupants were the Princess Mihirmàh, her mother, and one of her sisters. Some of the younger ladies were exceedingly lovely, and wore their yashmacs so transparent, and so coquettishly arranged, that I could trace their features distinctly. This is, however, by no means the case generally speaking, as the inmates of the Imperial Seraglio are more closely covered when in a less retired spot, than any other of the Turkish women; and I remember on one occasion to have seen a favourite Odalique of the Sultan, who had a gauze across her eyes, as well as wearing her yashmac close to their very lids!
Troops of negroes surrounded the carriages, and the procession was closed by the Kislar Agha, mounted on a superb Arabian horse, and accompanied by four attendants on foot.
As soon as the cortège had passed, I pursued my way, and found that my friends had been compelled to make a circuit, and to enter the valley by another road, which did not communicate with the palace grounds. Nothing could be more cheerful or more picturesque than the scene that met my eye as I descended from the araba. The greensward was covered with merry groups—Wallachian and Bulgarian musicians were scattered among the revellers; Bohemian flower girls were vending their pretty nosegays in every direction, so skilfully arranged that each veiled fair one saw in an instant whether the tale she wished to tell had been anticipated by the dark-eyed Flora—mounted patroles appeared and disappeared along the crests of the hills as they pursued their round of observation—an Imperial caïque of white and gold was riding upon the ripple near one of the palace gates—Turkish servants were galloping in all directions—every avenue of the Imperial residence was doubly guarded—and all was bustle and excitement.
| Miss Pardoe del. | Day & Haghe Lith.rs to the King. |
| PALACE of the “SWEET WATERS". | |
| Henry Colburn 13 G.t Marlborough St 1837. | |
As we were standing in front of the palace, two six-oared caïques drew up beside the terrace, and shortly afterwards appeared the Princess Salihè, the wife of Halil Pasha, attended by half a dozen negroes, and twice as many female slaves, and followed by the head nurse carrying in her arms the lovely infant, on occasion of whose birth Sultan Mahmoud displayed such unprecedented generosity.
Heretofore, as it was stated at the time in the public prints, all the Emperors of Turkey had caused the male children of their own offspring to be destroyed, and thus provided most efficiently against future disputes relatively to the succession. The child on whom I now looked had not only been spared by its Imperial Grandsire, but public rejoicings had taken place on its birth—cannon had been fired, and ministers had been admitted to the Presence on audiences of congratulation. It was a noble boy, laughing and sporting in the arms of its nurse; and, as the caïques shot away, I busied myself with endeavouring to picture to my mind’s eye the joy of the fond mother on learning that her child was to be spared to her. The delight was, however, fated to be transient, for Mahmoud was ere long released from his incipient enemy, (if such the little prince were indeed destined one day to become) without dyeing his own hands in blood. Three days after our visit to Kahaitchana he expired in convulsions, induced by his sufferings in teething.
As I understood that His Highness was engaged at archery with some of his favourite Pashas, I resolved on endeavouring to obtain a sight of him; and accordingly one or two of our party detached themselves from the rest, and, making a circuit of the pleasure-grounds, we arrived opposite the spot where the Toxopholites were “speeding the winged arrow to the mark.” A heavy cloud that was passing over the valley had already shed a few of those large drops which fall upon the leaves with the sound and the weight of hail; and the Sultan was seated beneath a red umbrella, held over his sacred person by one of the Officers of the Imperial Household. The favoured Pashas were standing in a line along the façade of the building; and a number of servants were dispersed over the lawn, for the purpose of collecting the arrows.
Apropos of umbrellas—Until the present reign, the red umbrella was sacred to the use of the Sultan; but his present Highness probably deeming the monopoly a very inconsequent one, graciously removed the interdict; and I need scarcely add that red umbrellas are now the rage at Constantinople.
Archery is a passion with Sultan Mahmoud, who is extremely vain of his prowess; so much so indeed, that a long stretch of hilly country immediately in the rear of the Military College is dotted over with marble pillars fancifully carved, and carefully inscribed, erected on the spots where the arrows shot by himself from a terrace on the crest of the height are supposed to have fallen—I say supposed, for, as his foible is no secret, the Imperial pages who are employed to collect the shafts, and to measure the distances, generally pick up the arrow and run on twenty or thirty paces further, ere they affect to find it; by which means the Sultan shoots like the Prince Aimwell in the Fairy Tale; and the cunning varlets who restore his arrows earn many a backshish or present which more honest men would miss. I remember on one occasion, when on an exploring expedition, suddenly coming upon so handsome a marble column, inscribed with letters of gold, and surmounted by an urn, that I was curious to learn its purport; when, to my surprise, I discovered that this was a record-pillar of the same description; and as his Sublime Highness had on this occasion pulled a very long bow indeed, so he had perpetuated its memory by a handsomer erection than usual.
The archery party at Kahaitchana was amusing enough. First flew the arrow of the Sultan, and away ran the attendants; then each Pasha shot in his turn, taking especial care to keep within bounds, and not to out-Cæsar Cæsar. Some of them looked important, and others horridly bored: but there was no escape from an amateur who boasts that he has practised every week for the last forty years.
A little to the left of the spot occupied by the archers is a raised platform overshadowed by a weeping willow, beneath which rises a handsome head-stone. It is the grave of an Imperial Odalique, who died suddenly in the very zenith of her youth, her beauty, and her favour. She was buried in this lovely spot at the express command of the Sultan, who was so deeply affected by her loss that for two entire years he abandoned the valley. The platform is overlooked by the windows of the Salemliek, and every wind that sighs through the willow branches carries their voice to the ears of those who occupy its gilded chambers. Mahmoud, in a fit of poetical despair, is said to have written a pathetic ballad of which she was the subject. I endeavoured to procure it, but failed; and, as I was loath that she should remain unsung in Europe, I even tried my own hand in some wild stanzas, which I wrote hurriedly as I stood near her grave.
THE LOST ONE.
Despite the sentiment of the thing, however, the beautiful Odalique has been long forgotten; and the bevy of beauties who wander near her grave have no time to sigh over her fate. It was, nevertheless, consolatory to my romance to remark that the Sultan shot his arrows in another direction!
On leaving the neighbourhood of the Toxopholites, I returned accompanied by a Greek lady to the araba, and drove higher up the valley; where we came in contact with the carriages of Azmè Sultane and her suite. On seeing us, she stopped, and, after inquiring if I were the Frank lady whom she had invited to her palace, she courteously and condescendingly expressed her regret that her indisposition had rendered her unable to receive me, but desired that I would hold myself engaged to spend another day in the Seraï ere long. She then, as a mark of especial favour, sent one of her negroes to the araba, with the infant to whom I have already made allusion, and whom I discovered to be the namesake of my lovely acquaintance, Heyminè Hanoum: the child was richly and fantastically dressed; and, when I had praised its beauty, admired its costume, and restored it to the attendant, I received a very gracious salutation from Her Highness, who moved on, followed by her suite.
The Princess, who is the widow of a Pasha, is a noble-looking woman, with a very aristocratic manner, and strongly resembles her brother. She has evidently been handsome, but must now be more than sixty years of age. Her fair favourite, Nazip Hanoum, was seated beside her, but so closely veiled, that, until she saluted me, I was unable to recognise her.
As we continued our drive, we passed a hundred groups of which an artist might have made as many studies. All was enjoyment and hilarity. Caïques came and went along the bright river; majestic trees stretched their long branches over the greensward; gay voices were on the wind; the cloud had passed away; and the sunlight lay bright upon the hill-tops. I know not a spot on earth where the long, sparkling summer day may be more deliciously spent than in the lovely Valley of the Sweet Waters.
Easter with the Greeks—Greek Church at Pera—Women’s Gallery—Interior of a Greek Church—The Sanctuary—The Screen—Throne of the Patriarch—The Holy Sepulchre—Singular Appearance of the Congregation—Sociability of the Ladies—L’Echelle des Morts—Shipping—Boats and Boatmen—Church of the Fanar—Ancient Screen—Treasure Chests—The Sanctuary—Private Chapels—A Pious Illumination—Priests’ House—Prison—Remedy against Mahomedanism—Midnight Mass—Unexpected Greetings—The Patriarch—Logotheti—Russian Secretaries—Russian Supremacy in Turkey—Affinity of Religion between the Greeks and Russians—The Homage—Pious Confusion—Patriarch’s Palace—Lovely Night-Scene—Midnight Procession—Serious Impressions—Suffocating Heat—Dawn.
Our own Easter was over. The last dinner had been eaten, the last quadrille had been danced; politics had succeeded to parties, and diplomacy to dissipation; when the Greeks were preparing to celebrate the festival with all the pomp and circumstance of the most gorgeous and glowing of religions. I took this opportunity of paying my first visit to the Greek Church of Pera; an elegant edifice built at the expense of the Russian government, and richly decorated with blue and gold; where the service is performed both in Greek and Russ, all the priests attached to it being Russians.
A Greek lady, whose acquaintance I had made, politely offered me the use of her seat, which I accepted the more gladly, that without such accommodation I must have failed in my attempts to witness the ceremony; most of the females being obliged to content themselves with hearing the service, without a hope of seeing it. This difficulty arises from the fact that the women are not permitted to occupy the body of the church, but are confined to a gallery so closely latticed that it is impossible for those below to catch the faintest glimpse of the secluded fair-ones.
The appearance of a Greek church differs from those of the Roman Catholics, infinitely more than do the several religions. The Sanctuary, in the midst of which stands the High Altar, is separated from the church by a close screen; and there are neither aisles nor side chapels. The whole edifice is lighted by chandeliers suspended from the ceiling in three straight lines, reaching from the Sanctuary to the principal entrance: and the screen is ornamented with the effigies of saints, hardly and drily painted; which frequently figure in such sort in their temples as thoroughly to exonerate them from the imputation of making to themselves the “likeness of anything in Heaven, or on earth, or in the waters under the earth.” Nor is this all; for the pious being to the full as prone to make votive offerings to their favourite saints as any Catholic in Spain or Portugal, the staring, wooden pictures are furthermore decorated with gold and silver hands, eyes, ears, or noses, as the case may be; which gives them so comical an effect that the gravest person cannot contemplate them without a smile.
The centre of the screen is closed by a curtain above the low double door opening into the church—the veil shrouding from the eyes of the congregation “the holy of holies,” according to the old Jewish use. On the present occasion, the curtain was drawn back, and the High Priest was robing himself in front of the altar.
The Patriarch’s throne was on the right hand, and immediately opposite to it was the pulpit; while at the bottom of the church on each side of the door stood two enormous chests of polished wood, containing the church plate and properties. In the centre of the marble floor was placed the boast and treasure of the chapel—a stone which once formed part of the Sepulchre of the Saviour, affirmed to have been brought from the Holy Land, and ultimately deposited here. The crush towards this point was enormous: the dense crowd shoving and elbowing each other most determinedly to secure an approach; which, when they had effected it, enabled them to cross themselves, according to the rite of their church, seven times successively with a rapidity only to be acquired by long practice, and to kiss each extremity of the stone, leaving a piece of money in the salver of the attendant priest.
Huge wax candles of at least seven inches in diameter were burning in front of the Sanctuary, and on the canopy covering the Sepulchre; and the glare fell upon a dense crowd of heads, some shaven close, some decorated with a single long tress of hair hanging from the summit; some half-shaved, as though a platter had been adjusted to the cranium of the individual, and that the barber had operated round its edges; and others with long dishevelled elf-locks falling about their shoulders—the effect was perfectly ludicrous!
Meanwhile, the ladies in the gallery were not idle: compliments were exchanged—inquiries made and answered—and conversations carried on, as coolly as though the interlocutors had been quietly seated in their own houses: while every five or six minutes a priest made his appearance, bearing a salver to receive the donations of the pious and charitable. But I soon wearied of the nasal, monotonous chant of the officiating priests, which more than counteracted the light and gladsome aspect of the edifice; and, satisfied with having seen a great deal of paint and gilding, and a rich display of tissue and embroidery, as well as a holy scuffle among the crowd at a particular period of the service, to possess themselves of the candles that had lit up the Sepulchre, I escaped from the scene of pious confusion; and slowly taking my way through the cypress-shaded burial-ground, and onward to the Echelle des morts, I gladly stepped into the caïque, to share, beneath the hospitable roof of a friend, in the magnificent ceremonials which were to take place in the ancient patriarchal church at the Fanar.
As we traversed the port, I was struck by the various character of the shipping, more than usually conspicuous under a flood of bright sunshine. The vessels of war, (one of them the largest in the world) were lying like floating cities on the still surface of the mirror-like Bosphorus: the foreign merchant ships, anchored in dense ranks along the shore, with their sails furled, and their slender masts shooting upwards, like the tall stems of a wind-stripped forest—the Arab vessels, with their sharp high prows and sterns, precisely as I had often seen them represented on the antique medals—the steam-packets, dark and motionless like ocean-monsters, about to vomit forth their volumes of thick, suffocating smoke upon the clear air; while about, and around, and among all these, darted, and glided, and whirled, the slender caïques of polished and carved walnut wood, with their gracefully-clad rowers, and their minute gilded ornaments glittering in the light; the sharp shrill cry of “On the European side”—“On the Asiatic side!”—ringing upon the ear every moment, as the boatmen indicated each to the other which course to steer, in order to leave to all a free passage.
We landed on a terrace overhanging the water, at the extremity of our friend’s garden; and after taking coffee with the ladies, immediately set forth to visit the church by daylight. Though more limited in its dimensions, and less rich in its decorations, than the church at Pera, it nevertheless pleased me infinitely better; there was an air of time-hallowed holiness about the whole of its interior, far more attractive than the unfaded paint and fresh gilding which I had seen in the morning.
The Patriarch’s throne, simple, and even clumsy in its form and fashion, had existed for twelve hundred years, and was consequently respectable from its antiquity; close beside it stood the raised and high-backed chair of Logotheti; and about twenty feet beyond, stretched the magnificent screen of the Sanctuary, delicately carved in dark oak. This screen particularly attracted me, the workmanship was so minute and elaborate, and the columns which separated the panels in such high and bold relief. Here, as at Pera, dry, hard, savage-looking Saints ornamented the spaces between them, and were equally decorated with the incongruous and disjointed offerings of their votaries.
The most popular personage of the whole calendar among the Greeks is decidedly St. George, who had no less than two entire effigies in beaten silver in this church. The pulpit was of mosaic, thickly overstrown with stars of mother-of-pearl; and two large chests, similar to those which I have already named, were composed of the same materials. The women’s gallery was even more closely latticed than that at Pera, and the flood of light without was admitted so sparingly by the high and infrequent casements, that a solemn twilight reigned throughout the edifice, which accorded admirably with its antique and somewhat gloomy character.
Thanks to the guidance under which we entered, the priest who had opened the doors for us was obliging enough to walk to the other extremity of the church, and thus leave us the opportunity of penetrating into the Sanctuary, which the profane foot of woman is supposed never to tread. It consisted of a small chapel, containing an altar by no means remarkable, spread with the sacramental plate: a high-backed chair of marble for the Patriarch, a fountain for the use of the officiating priests, a few miserable oil-paintings, and a vast number of small pictures of Saints and Virgins, placed there during a certain time for “a consideration,” to become hallowed by the sanctity of the spot ere they were removed to the private chapels of the different families: every Greek, however limited in fortune, having an apartment in his house fitted up as an oratory.
I was, however, much more amused (for that is the only applicable word) in watching the proceedings of a Greek lady who had accompanied me, than in contemplating the portly saints and florid martyrs by whom I was surrounded. A slight iron rail runs along the screen at the base of the paintings for the purpose of supporting the tapers which the zeal of the pious may be inclined to burn in their honour; and my companion was busily employed in lighting a score of these minute candles at a lamp that is constantly left burning for the purpose; humming in an under-tone, while she did so, the barcarolle in Masaniello which was exchanged, as she commenced her survey of the holy group, for such exclamations as the following:—
“The Virgin—I shall give her four, because my own name is Mary—and look, I pray you, at the pretty effect of her gold hand, and her silver crown, with the light flashing on them. Now comes St. George—I like St. George, so he shall have two. Who is this? Oh! St. Nicholas; I cannot bear St. Nicholas, so I shall pass him by.”
I ventured to intercede in his favour.
“Very well, then, as you wish it, there is one for him; but he never was a favourite of mine: there are two saints in the calendar to whom I never burn a taper, St. Nicholas and St. Demetrius.”
It was, however, finally settled that no partialities were to be indulged on the present occasion, and consequently the effect produced was that of a miniature illumination. My curiosity being satisfied, and the pious offering of my companion completed, we proceeded to make a tour of the vast monastic-looking building forming one side of the enclosure, and which is appropriated to the priests. Ascending an external flight of steps, we found ourselves in a wide gallery, whence the apartments opened on the right and left, precisely as the cells are arranged in a convent. One of these small, but comfortable, rooms is allotted to each individual; and those which we visited were very carefully carpeted and curtained, with divans of chintz, and every luxury customary in Greek apartments. In many of them we found ladies taking coffee with their owners, while servants were hurrying to and fro, full of bustle and importance.
Altogether there was an atmosphere of comfort about the establishment, which quite made me overlook its otherwise dreary extent; and as I passed out by another door, having before me the Palace of the Patriarch, I felt no inclination to commiserate the worldly condition of his subordinates.
From the Priest’s House we proceeded to the prison,4 where we found one miserable urchin of twelve years old, “in durance vile” for an attempt to turn Musselmaun; he was ragged and almost barefooted, and some pious Turk had promised to recompense his apostacy with a new suit, and a pair of shoes; but, unfortunately for the cause of the Prophet, the boy was caught in the act of elusion, and delivered up by his exasperated parents to the authority of the Church, which had already kept him a prisoner for eight days, and was about to send him, with a chain about his leg, to spend a month in a public mad-house!
What analogy the good Papas had found between the mosque and the mad-house I know not; but the punishment was certainly a most original and frightful one. The boy told us his own tale, and then added, with a broad grin, that he would take them in at last. Two other prisoners, accused of theft, were about to suffer their sentence in a day or two: exile in both cases, accompanied by branding on the breast in the most aggravated of the two; and, meanwhile, close confinement. They were a couple of shrewd-looking, desperate ruffians, and laughed in his face as the keeper spoke of them. We were then shown the bastinado, and the rings and chains for insubordinate prisoners; and, after having made a donation which was received with a surprise perfectly untrammelled with gratitude, I returned to the residence of our hospitable friends, with the rattling of fetters in my ears, and a thousand gloomy fancies floating over my brain.
At half past ten o’clock we repaired once more to the Church, in order to assist at the midnight mass; where a Greek lady very politely gave up her seat to me, that I might have an uninterrupted view of the ceremonies. The service had already commenced when we entered, and the whole interior of the edifice was one blaze of light. The thirty chandeliers suspended from the ceiling threw a many-coloured gleam on the crowd beneath them, from their pendants of tinted glass; and the huge candles in front of the Sanctuary, and the tapers burning before the saints, added to the brightness of the glare; which, penetrating through the lattices of the gallery, enabled me to contemplate as extraordinary a scene as I had ever witnessed in a place of worship. The fair tenants of the front seats presented much the same appearance as a parterre of flowers; there were turbans of every tint, dresses of every dye, bonnets of every form: and such a constant flutter, fidget, and fuss; such bowing, smiling, and whispering, that I began to fancy there must be some mistake, and that we were, in fact, gathered together to witness some mere worldly exhibition.
But the monotonous chanting of the priests, which had been momentarily suspended, was suddenly renewed; and I turned away from a score of polite greetings, offered by persons of whom I had not the slightest recollection, but to whom I had doubtlessly been presented during the carnival, in order to observe the proceedings beneath me.
The Patriarch was seated on his throne, dressed in a vestment of white satin, clasped on the breast with an immense diamond ornament, over which was flung a scarf of gold tissue; the borders of the robe were wrought to about a foot in depth with portraits of the saints in needlework of different colours, interspersed with gold and silver threads. His crown of crimson velvet was entirely covered with immense pearls, fashioned into different figures; the intermediate spaces being occupied by rubies, emeralds, and brilliants, of great beauty and lustre. He held his staff in one hand, and in the other the Gospel, bound in white satin, and studded with jewels; and, at every movement that he made, the tapers by which he was surrounded flashed back the radiance of his elaborately-gemmed habit in a coruscation perfectly dazzling.
Beside him, and on a level with the throne, sat Logotheti, in an uniform richly embroidered with silver; my father was beside him; and at the foot of his chair stood Vogorede; while immediately in front of the throne, in a line with the pulpit, four of the Russian Secretaries occupied a crimson-cushioned seat, whence they had a full view of the Sanctuary.
Among the numerous causes, all working towards the same centre of Russian supremacy in Turkey, one of the most dangerous for the Moslem is the community of religion between the Russian and the Greek. The Autocrat has built a church for the Greeks in the vicinity of Constantinople, and the arms of Russia surmount the portal! The attachés of the Russian Embassy, while the members of all the other Legations are either sleeping or feasting, are meekly kneeling before the throne of the Greek Patriarch, and humbly kissing the hand which extended to them!
The act in itself is simple. It is the effect that it produces on the minds of the mass which is to be dreaded. The expression of delighted admiration on the countenances of the crowd was a perfect study, as, following in the wake of Logotheti and Vogoride, ere less important persons had an opportunity of doing homage to the Patriarch, the all-powerful agents of all-powerful Russia bent a willing knee to kiss the sacred hand. A common interest was created at once, and no tie is so sure as that of religious faith. The Greeks already writhe in their fetters—the bondmen loathe their task-masters—the tree is cankered at the core, and hollowed in the trunk: let Russia apply the axe, and it will fall.
The Moslem, be he lured to ruin as smilingly as he may, and flattered into security as blandly as the criminal of his country, who finds the rope about his neck ere he knows that he is condemned; is the coveted prey of his semi-barbarous ally. The force of the Russian, and the guile of the Greek—external power and internal treachery—are at work against him; and what has he to oppose to these? High-sounding titles, and pompous phrases—a young and half-trained soldiery—a navy, unequal to the management of their magnificent shipping—and a Capital, protected by men, many of whom wear a Russian medal at their breast—a medal bestowed on them by the munificent Emperor of another nation, for having done their duty (according to Muscovite notions) towards their own!
But let Turkey be supported for awhile, as her own efforts merit that she should be; let her find the ready help from European powers, in which she so fondly trusted—and she will, ere long, prove herself worthy to take her place among the nations. Her military and naval forces require only time; her soldiers have already given evidence of their courage, and, having so done when comparatively undisciplined, will naturally develop still higher attributes when acting as a well-organized body; in which each individual receives, as well as gives, support. Let the Russian medal be trampled in the dust of the city streets—and this will demand no effort on the part of those who wear it, into whose breasts it burns, and who consider it rather as a brand of disgrace, than as a creditable badge—and it will then require no spirit of prophecy to foretell the future prosperity of Turkey. To the East, Europe is indebted for her knowledge of military tactics and military subordination, and she can well afford to pay back the debt. Half a dozen experienced officers would, in a few months, change the whole appearance and nature of the Turkish army.
Homage had been paid to the Patriarch, and the chanting became more animated, as, followed by a train of Archbishops and Bishops, he retired to the sanctuary, and added to his already costly habiliments several other jewelled and embroidered draperies. He next received the sacrament, at which period of the ceremony every man, woman, and child, within the church hastened to light the taper that they had brought for the purpose, (the symbol of the Resurrection) which produced a sudden burst of light absolutely thrilling. As I looked down upon the struggling and stifling crowd beneath me, so closely wedged together that it was with difficulty they could raise the arm holding the taper, which each lit by that of his neighbour, the scene was most extraordinary. A dense vapour was even then rapidly spreading its heavy folds over the whole edifice, and, in a few moments, I could distinguish nothing but a sea of heads, and a multitude of pigmy lights, feebly struggling through the thick smoke.
The fiery and impetuous Greeks, enthusiastic in all their feelings—in religion, in love, in hate, and in ambition—did not, in the present instance, confine themselves so scrupulously as an European congregation would have done, to the space assigned to them—half a dozen wild, bandit-looking individuals clambered into the pulpit—a score more clung to the steps—those who chanced to be nearest to the vacated stalls of the Bishops appropriated them without ceremony—others hung by the pillars which supported the gallery—and thus sufficient space was with difficulty ensured by the panting beadles for the passage of the procession.
At this moment, I followed my friend from the church, and, four or five sturdy servants having with considerable effort forced a way for us to the Patriarch’s Palace, we hastened to take possession of his private sitting-room, which, as it overlooked the enclosure in which the church was situated, and where the procession was to halt, he had politely offered, in order to secure the gratification of my curiosity.
The night was one of beauty. The pale moon was riding high among masses of fleecy clouds, which were pillowed upon the deep blue of the sky, forming towers, and palaces, and islets, so changeful and fleeting, that they looked like the ephemeral creations of fairy-land. A lofty and leafy plane tree, whose foliage had newly burst beneath the soft influence of spring, was sighing gently in the midnight wind; and the long dark outline of the monastic buildings, and the slanting roof of the church, loomed out in the faint moonlight, with a mysterious depth of shadow well suited to the solemnity of the hour. The wide doors of the sacred edifice suddenly fell back—the low chant of the choir swelled upon the night air—and forth rushed the eager crowd that had so lately thronged the church; each with his lighted taper in his hand, and pressing forward to a raised platform in the centre of the enclosure, railed in for the convenience of the Patriarch and his train of dignitaries.
Ere long, the whole of the wide space was like a sea, in which the dark waves flung themselves upwards in fiery sparks, while they rolled and swelled in gloom beneath the surface—or like a spot upon a sky of tempest, into which were gathered all the stars of heaven to form one galaxy of light amid the surrounding gloom. And forth into this place of brightness slowly moved the holy train from the chapel. First came the bearer of the golden crucifix, surrounded by gilded lanterns and gleaming candlesticks; and next the torch-bearers, whose waxen candles, linked together in threes with gaudily-coloured ribbons, represented the Trinity; then moved forward a train of priests, walking two and two, with their flowing robes of saffron-coloured satin, their luxuriant beards sweeping down to their breasts, their brimless caps, and their long locks falling upon their shoulders.
Nothing can be more picturesque than the head-dress of a Greek priest. As they are not permitted to use either scissors or razor from the period of their birth, when they are vowed to the Church by their parents, they reduce the beard by plucking it, according to the old Jewish law; and, being almost universally very fine men, they do this with a care and skill which heighten the effect of their appearance; while their long thick locks are, on ordinary occasions, hidden beneath their caps.
This holy body was succeeded by the Patriarch, supported on either side by two of the Archbishops, who, in the Greek Church, represent the Apostles, as the Patriarch himself personates the Saviour, and followed by the ten others in robes of such dazzling brilliancy that any attempt at description would be idle. Immediately after these came the Bishops, walking two and two; succeeded in their turn by Logotheti and Vogoride, another train of priests, and finally by that portion of the congregation who had not been able to effect an earlier egress from the church.
The junior priests arranged themselves in a circle at the foot of the platform, which was soon filled by the heads of the Church, and the lay dignitaries, among whom stood my father. The Patriarch read a portion of the scriptures, from an ample volume that lay open on the stand before him: the attendant priests chanted a psalm which rose and fell on the night wind in solemn cadences; and, finally, the elder of the Bishops, having placed in the hand of the Patriarch one of the triple candles which I have already named, wherewith to bless the people; and subsequently two linked together, representing the double nature of Christ; the whole crowd bowed their uncovered heads, and crossed themselves seven times, with the collected points of the two fore-fingers and the thumb; after which a passage was with difficulty forced through the crowd for the return of the procession, whose chant gradually died away upon the ear, as it disappeared beneath the portal of the church, and in five minutes more we were alone, gazing out upon the empty enclosure flickered with moonlight.