Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

cular fwing, made by fixing a wheel on a high poft, from which hang many poles, with feats attached to them. I have feen feveral of thefe bearded children taking this amufement with great glee, and contrafted with the gravity of their habits nothing could be more ridiculous. The Greeks have an univerfal license, dance through the ftreets to very rude mufic, and are in the zenith of their vivacity; but the feftivity of the Armenians, a faturnine race, feems to confift chiefly in being intoxicated, and jumping with the prepofterous activity of an elephant. In the Campo de' Morti, near Pera, fo called from being the cemetery of the Franks and Armenians, many of thefe droll fcenes may be then contemplated by an inveftigator of the precife traits of character which difcriminate the mafs of all nations.

"The Turks have fumptuary laws, and habits peculiar to profeffions. By the turban differing in fize and shape every man is known; and to numerous are thefe diftinctions, that a dragoman, long converfant with Conftantinople, told, me he knew not half of them. The Emirs, real or pretended defcendants from the prophet, are diftinguished by the green muflin, the others wear white round a cap of cloth, and the head is univerfally very closely thaven. In the turbans of the oulemah there is a greater profufion of muflin, from ten to twenty yards, which are proportionably larger, as the wigs of profeffional men were formerly. The military, as the janiffaries, boftandjis, and topjis, wear caps of the moft uncouth fhape and fafhion, fuch as defy defcription. The rayahs are known by a head-drefs called a kalpac, made of lamb-fkin,

and inimitably ugly, differing entirely from a turban; and fometimes a famour, or black fur cap, which is principally worn by dragomen and phyficians. In other refpects they are dreffed as the Turks. Yellow flippers, or boots, are indulged only to thofe under ambaffadorial protection, and are an envied diftinction. When the prefent fultan came to the throne, he iffued an edict that no unlicenfed rayah fhould appear publicly in yellow flippers. At that time he took great pleasure in walking the ftreets in difguife; when meeting an ill ftarred Jew dreffed contrary to law, he ordered his head to be inftantly ftruck off. This was his firft act of feverity, which created most unfavourable conjectures, not altogether confirmed by his fubiequent reign.

"The Turks of better rank, and the regular citizens, wear what is called the long drefs, with outer robes of fine cloth, thalloon, or pellices, which are in general ufe for the greater part of the year, and commonly of the moft coftly furs. They are feldom feen without a tefpi in their hands; it is a ftring of ninety beads correfponding with the names of the deity, which they carry as much for amufement as devotion. Hamid Ali, a late vifier, wore one of pearl, fo perfect as to be valued at 30001. fterling.

"The common people, especially thofe belonging to any military corps, have a jacket richly ornamented with gold or filk twift, trowfers of cloth, which close to the middle of the leg, the other part of which is bare, and red flippers. Their great pride is to stick into their girdles a pair of large horfe piftols, a yataghán or long knife, a hanjiar or dagger, all pro

fuíely

fufely inlaid with filver in a grotefque tafte, which, with pouches for ammunition and tobacco, are extremely incommodious and feveral pounds weight. With thefe weapons they frequently do mifchief, often from childishnefs, fometimes from intention. Such are feen in every town in the empire, excepting the capital, who glory in their privilege, as no rayah is permitted to carry arms.

"By the laws of Iflamifm the Turks are forbidden veffels and utenfils of gold or filver, and are directed to great fimplicity in every habit of life. This injunction does not extend to women, whofe pride confifts in the number and coftlinefs of their trinkets. The chief luxury of the men is difplayed in the number of their attendants, and their horfes with fuperb caparifons, often of embroidered velvet, and plates of filver emboffed and gilt No rich man appears in publie, but on horfeback with a train of footmen, in any part of Conftantinople, the number of whom is unneceffarily great, and much of his income is expended in their daily maintenance, and new clothes at the feat of Bayram. Their wages are inconfiderable. No domeftic performs more than one office; this ferves the coffee, and that hands the napkin, but no emergency can command any other fervice.

"The horfes of the Arab, or Tourcoman breed, are eminently beautiful, and are taught to prance under the perfect manêge of the rider however infirm. Great expence likewife is lavished on the boats, which are elegant in a high degree, carved, gilded, and lined with rich cushions. They coft from a hundred to a thousand piaftres each. The rank of the owner is afcertained by the number of

oars, and in dexterity or civility no watermen exceed the Turks.

"Coaches are not in ufe, excepting that the clumfy, nondefcript vehicles, which convey the ladies of great harems, can be fo called. Ia his pipe an opulent man is extremely fumptuous; the head must be of pale amber, the ftick of jafmine wood, with the bark preserved, and the bowl of a delicate red clay, manufactured at Burgas, in Romelia, and highly ornamented. According to the dignity of the fmoker is the length of his pipe, often fix or feven feet, when it is carried by two of his fervants from place to place with much ceremony; and the bowl is fupported by wheels, as an aid to fupreme indolence. In the fummer, for greater coolness, the ftem of the pipe is covered with cotton or muflin, and moistened with water. This fovereign recreation is not confined to the men; the ladies, especially thofe advanced in life, partake of it largely, and, as a delicacy, they mix the tobacco with frankincenfe, mufk, or aloes wood. The fultan alone abftains from etiquette; as lalife, or reprefentative of the prophet, he declines deciding, by his own practice, upon the propriety of any cuftom, about which the law is not fpecific and declaratory.

[ocr errors]

Notwithstanding their grave exterior, which might prepoflets foreigners with an idea of conceal ing as much stupidity as fente, and apparently fo ungenial with mirth or vivacity, the Turks, in fuperior life, of both fexes, indulge a vein of farcaftic humour, and are not behind more polished nations in the delicacy or feverity of their repartees. Moft gentlemen of the feraglio, or capital, have been educated in their feminaries of learn-. ing, and are converfant with oriental literature. Many of them

quote

« A man of rank, remarkably unpleating in his countenance and figure, was married, according to cuftom, without having firft feen her unveiled, to a lady whofe pretenfions to perfonal attraction did not exceed his own. On the morning after their marriage the demanded of him, to whom of his friends the might fhew her face with freedom. Shew it,' faid he, to all the world, but hide it from

quote the Perfian poets as happily, and refer to the Arabic philofophers with as complete erudition, as we can do to the Greek or Roman. The Leilat u alf leilah,' or Arabian Nights, first introduced into Europe by Monfieur Petit de la Croix, are familiarly known by them, as well as the fables and allegories of Pilpay and Lokman, from which fources they ftore their minds as well with fentiment as expreffion. To excel in colloquialme. Patience,' rejoined the facility and elegance, is the first ambition of every cheliby, or man of breeding.

lady. I have none,' returned the bridegroom. Ah! faid the,' I 'think you must have had a good "I repeat a specimen of Turk-fhare; for you have carried that ifh wit, related to me as having abominable great nofe about with been occafioned by a recent cir-you all your life-time.' cumftance.

T

PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS at BUDE.

[From TowNSON'S TRAVELS in HUNGARY, &c.]

HERE are two theatres. That in Bude, which was originally a church, and was applied by the emperor Jofeph to this purpofe, is a very good one; that in Peft is fmall, and with wretched fcenery and wretched decorations. The pieces are generally played in German, but within thefe few years fome have been given in the Hungarian language.

"On Sundays and great feftivals, the public is entertained as at Vienna with the Hetze. The proprietors have two very fine wildbulls. The day I was a fpectator of this polite and humane amufement one was turned out on the arena, and at the the fame time an Hungarian ox: this attacked the former, but was immediately thrown down: but, our English

bulls would have difputed the ground with him to greater advantage: an Hungarian ox, and a Bos ferus, are very unequally matched. Then came a Raube bear; this is a bear that has been kept without food for feveral days, and rene dered favage by hunger on another bear being let out a battle enfued: the latter was fo much inferior in fize that the conteft did not laft long: the Raube bear kept the other, which feemed no way ferocious, down with his paws, and ftrangled him, by feifing him by the throat, and then carried him into his den. The great disparity in fize and ftrength rendered this a moft difagreeable fight. The white Greenland bear afforded more entertainment. In the middle of the arena there was a small pool of

water,

water, with a duck in it. As foon as the bear came to the edge of the pool, the duck laid itself flat and motionless on the furface of the water: the bear leaped in, the duck dived, and the bear dived after it; but the duck efcaped, through its fuperior diving. The next piece was a bold attempt of one of the keepers to wrestle with an ox. As foon as the keeper came upon the arena, the ox ran at him. The man, who was not a bove the middle fize, feized his antagonift by the horns, who pufhed him indeed from one fide of the arena to the other, but could not tofs him. After the battle had lafted fome time, and the ox had got the keeper near the fide of the arena, and might have hurt him, fome aliftants came out, difengaged him from the wall, and gave him his dagger, which he immcdiately ftruck between the cervical vertebræ of his antagonist, which inftantly fell lifelefs to the ground; but finall convulfive motions continued for a minute or two. In this manner the oxen are killed by the butchers at Gibraltar, who, I am told, have learned it from their African neighbours. Might not the magiftrates of towns recommend this method to their butchers, and, if found better than the ufual manner of knocking them down, even compel them to adopt it? Every means of diminishing the fufferings of the brute creation thould be recommended, not only from humanity towards them, but for the fake of our own fociety. Men accustomed to be cruel towards animals, will require but a fmall inducement to be fo to their own fpecies. A lion came next upon the ftage, and one with all his native majefty; conícious of his ftrength, he looked undauntedly about, to fee if he had any oppo

1797

nent; but he was brought out only for fhow. From the hole in the upper part of the gate of the arena, a handkerchief was put out, and inftantly drawn back: he flew at this in an inftant. Some other animals were turned out, and were glad to get into their dens again. One of the keepers fhewed his addrefs in fpearing a wild boar, which ran at him as foon as he came on the arena. I found few other public amufements. Being fummer, most of the grand mon.le was out of town; for the Hungarians are like the English, they live a great deal upon their eftates. In winter no doubt I fhould have found the ufual amusements, as concerts, balls, card parties, converfaziones, &c. The citizens have a ball fometimes on the Sunday evenings, and in the neighbour hood there are feveral inns pleafantly fituated in retired fituations, where the great and fall often go for recreation. Coffee-houfes are

little known in the northern part of the continent; but in the fouthern they are places of refort timekilling places at least, if not places of amufement. This town has feveral good ones; but that facing the bridge is, I think. not to be equalled in Europe. Befides a very large handfome room elegantly fit ted up, and with two or three billiard-tables, there is a private billiard room for thofe who do not fmoky; and two or three other rooms for giving entertainments in; and very comfortable dinners may be had. And here, according to the continental custom, all ranks and both fexes may come 5 and hair-dreffers in their powdered coats, and old market women, come here and take their coffee or drink their refolio as well as counts and barons."

[blocks in formation]

[98]

PARTICULARS Concerning the prefent POPE, the ROMAN NOBILITY, and the MANNERS of MODERN ROME.

[From the first Volume of TRAVELS through GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, ITALY, and SICILY, translated from the GERMAN of FREDERIC LEOFOLD, COUNT STOLBERG, by THOMAS HOLCROFT.]

"T

"O-day and yesterday, I have been in company with modern Romans. This morning, I was prefented to the pope. This old man, who exercifes his office with fo much folemn dignity, is exceedingly pleafant, and familiar, in perfonal intercourfe. I found him fitting at his writing defk: he defired me to fit by him, and converfed with me, with animation and intelligence, on different fubjects.

Pius the fixth occupies himself in the cabinet, gets up in winter before day-light, and performs the weighty duties of the papal chair with a knowledge of prefent circumftances, and with a firm mind.

"The difputes, between himself and the king of Naples, have been adjusted by him with great prudence; he having preferved, inftead of renouncing the leaft of, his rights. He has conducted himfeif in the affairs of France with equal wifdom and dignity; and has efcaped all the nares that have been laid for him, openly and in fecret, by the national affembly, which might have led him to take steps that would have given an appearance of juftice to their rapacious views.

"The fecretary of ftate, cardinal Zelada, is properly the prime minifter. He is a man of much understanding, and uncommon affiduity. He rifes, at this feafon of the year, at four in the morning; and he feldom leaves the walls of

the Vatican.

"Cardinal Borgia is a man of great ardour, intelligence, and knowledge. He loves the learned; and is glad to fee them affemble round him, at his table.

"A tranflation of the poem of the Argonauts, by Apollonius Rhodius, is now preparing, by cardinal Frangini. His knowledge of the modern Greek, which he speaks with facility, was ferviceable to him, by rendering the ancient Greek more familiar.

"The fenator, prince Rezonico, and a count of the fame family, underfted and love German literature. I have made an acquaintance with the Marchefe Rangone, formerly the firft minifter of the duke of Modena. He likewife reads the German authors with delight; and, to a noble character, adds extenfive learning and real genius.

" You perceive that interefting men are fill to be found, among the great. I grant indeed they are rari nantes in gurgite vals. Moft of the Principi, Marchefi, and titled nobility, here, are ignorant; and have that arrogance which fleeps in barren ignorance, like earth unbroken by the plough. But are there no fuch men among us?

"I am well aware that, in Germany, there is a certain degree of information greater than in Italy; but would it not be increased, were we, who perhaps are more inclined to do justice to foreigners than any other nation, to overcome our pre

judices

« AnteriorContinuar »