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TURKEY. RUSSIA,
THIE
BLACK SEA, AND CIRGASSIA.
LONDON :
R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL.
s C. H. A. M. I. L. B. E. Y. .

TURKEY, RUSSIA,
THE
BLACK SEA AND CIRCASSIA
\ . . . . . ww.)
a cº- Jºe
CAPT, SPENGER,
AUTHOR OF “TRAVELS IN CIRCASSIA,” “WESTERN CAUCASUS,”
“TRAVELS IN EUROPEAN TURKEY,” ETC.
WITH COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS, NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS, .
AND A MAP.
g LONDON.
GE OR GE ROUT LED GE & Co.
FARRINGDON STREET.
1854.
The Publishers reserve the right of authorizing a Translation of
this Work.

A) Jºa e-cº-o-º/
“f-
5-37-5 &
723 73
CONTENTS,
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. i
CHAPTER. I. ~.
The past and present state of Hungary—Incident at an hotel—Count Széchényi-his
reforms—Triumph of Constitutional rights in Hungary—Revival of the Magyar
language—Count Széchényi as a legislator—Kossuth and his party—his great in-
fluence—Intrigues of Austria and Russia—Causes that led to the war in Hungary
—Melancholy aspect of Hungary in 1850—Character of Kossuth—Difficulties he
had to contend with—Treachery of General Görgey—Cruelty of the Austrian
Government—Execution of Count Louis Bathyani—Suicidal policy of Austria–
Russian influence in Austria—Irresponsible power, and its consequences . p. 9
CHAPTER II.
National traits of the Magyars—Different races inhabiting Hungary—Characteristics
of the Magyars—Their early History—Their Wars—their love of Free Institutions
—Accession of the princes of the house of Austria to the throne of Hungary—
Their demoralizing rule—Reflections on the policy of the princes of the houses of
Habsburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 28
*
CHAPTER III.
Discontent in Hungary—Some account of the Slavonian Races on the Lower Danube
—Russian Panslavism—Illyrian Panslavism—Political and social state of the Sla-
vonians—Popular Tumults—Prejudices of race—How acted upon by Austria in
the Hungarian War—Illyria—Slavonian Confederacy—Territory occupied by the
Slavonians—Its value as a defensive position—Critical position of the Austrian and
Turkish Empires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 37
b
vi CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
Steamboat voyage down the Danube, in 1850—View of Presburg–Coronation of
Ferdinand, King of Hungary—Deplorable effects of the late war—The Fortress of
Romorn—Wissegrad—Arrival at Pest—Reign of terror—Woman flogging—Attempt
of Austria to Germanize the Hungarians—National pride of the Hungarians—
Siege of Buda—Treachery of General Görgey—Enmity between Görgey and Kos-
suth—Want of decision in Kossuth's Government—Fall of Hungary . . . p. 49
CHAPTER V.
Departure from Pest—Effects of the late war—Total destruction of Neusatz—The
|
Ban of Croatia—His army—Their cruelties—General Mayerhoffer and his robber
bands—Austrian vengeance—Military cordon—some account of it—Carlowitz—
Historical sketch of the Servian nationality—Their warlike habits—Characteristics
of the Servians—Their republican tendencies—Turkish garrisons in Servia—Im-
portance of the fidelity of the Servians to the Sultan—Concluding remarks. p. 59
CHAPTER, WI.
Belgrade—Servian peasantry—Semendria—Scenery on the Danube—The Iron Gate
—Its peculiar features—Dangerous navigation—Whirlpools–Loss of a steamboat
—Widdin and its fortifications—The importance of Kalafat—First view of the Bal-
kan—Town and fortress of Nicopolis—Sestova—Rutschuck and its fortifications—
The fortress of Turtukai and Oltenitza—Importance of Silistria as a fortified posi-
tion—Town and fortress of Rassova–Tchernawoda—Projected canal to the Black
Sea—Opposition of Russia to its construction—Disgraceful condition of the
navigation of the Danube—Fortress of Hirsova–Matschin–Isaktchi—Toultcha
—Delta of the Danube—Observations upon the war between Turkey and
Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 77
CHAPTER VII.
Demoralizing influence of Russia—The Moldo-Wallachians—their origin—their
early history—The ancient Dacians—their wars with the Goths, Huns, and Turks
—How they became annexed to the Turkish empire—Russian intrigue to obtain
possession of the principalities—Disastrous effects of a Russian protectorate—
Sufferings of the Moldo-Wallachians during the Russian military occupation of
'. the country • * * -: & t e e a * & e ſº © º tº te º tº * g * º e D. 93
CHAPTER WIII.
t
Moldo-Wallachia considered with reference to its agricultural and commercial capa-
§
bilities—Mode of travelling—Characteristics of the Moldo-Wallachians—Walla-
chian Inns—Villages—Monasteries—Their great wealth—Superstitions of the
people—Demoralizing effects of the Greek religion—The various races that inhabit
Moldo-Wallachia—Boyards and peasants—Their costume—Their language—Indi-
cations of their Roman origin—Distinguishing traits of the Gypsies and the Jews
-Their habits, manners, and customs . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 106
CONTENTS. vii
CHAPTER IX.
Observations on the present state of Turkey—Condition of the Christian population
under Turkish rule—Necessity for a reform in the laws relating to them—Dis
affection of the Christians—Their democratic tendencies—Critical position of
Turkey–Turkish legislation—The Government of Russia and Turkey contrasted
—Proposed Colonization in Turkey—Insurrectionary movements of the Moldo-
Wallachians in 1848—Hostility of the liberal party to priestly interests and
influence—Their attempts to form an alliance with the Hungarians—Friendly dis-
position of the Greek Clergy and the Boyards towards Russia—Omar Pacha and
the foreign refugees in Turkey—Probable effects of their influence . . . p. 115.
.*
CHAPTER X.
Moldo-Wallachia in a Commercial point of view—Its Exports—Productions—Go-
vernment established by Russia—Faults in its administration—Venality of its
Agents—The Hospodars—Prince Bibesco Sturbey of Wallachia—Prince Gregory
Ghika of Moldavia — Their characters — Great Fertility of Moldo-Wallachia—
Desolate appearance of the country—Facilities and Advantages for Colonization—
Tour from Galatz, to Jassy–Description of Jassy—Roads in Moldavia—Posting—
Caught in a Snow Storm—A Nocturnal Battle—Arrival at Boyana—The Valley of
the Pruth—Tzarnowitz—Observations on the Austrian Buckowina . . . p. 127
CHAPTER, XI.
y
Steamboat voyage from Galatz to Constantinople—The Delta of the Danube—Cos-
sack bivouac—Insalubrity of the Delta—Observations upon the Navigation of the
Black Sea—Varna—Sizopoli—Thracian Bosphorus—Annual diminution of the
Black Sea and the Sea of Azow—Causes—Buyukderé—Therapia—A coast view of
Constantinople . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 146
~,
CHAPTER XII.
Islamism as a creed—Its effects upon the civilization of a people—Population of the
Turkish Empire—Christians and Mahometans—Difficulty of settling the Turkish
question—Expediency of concessions to the Christians—Primitive Christians in
Turkey—Probable conversion of the Turks through their agency—Anticipation of
what the present War may effect in Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . p. 156
*
CHAPTER, XIII.
Decrease of famaticism among the Turks-General description of Constantinople—
Public buildings—Bazaars—Mosques—Santa Sophia–The streets—Shops and
shopkeepers—Turkish music—Popular superstition-Turkish cº-wº
ding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P.
W111 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER, XIV.
Environs of Constantinople—Caiks and boatmen—Visit to Mount Bulgurlu-Splen-
did Scenery—Reflections—Excursion to Broussa—Desolated aspect of the Scenery
—Description of Broussa—Encampment of the Turkomans—Visit to the Valley
of the Sweet Waters . . . . . . . p. 185
* * º * gº & º g tº © tº &
**
CHAPTER, XV.
Progress of Turkey as a military power—Sultan Abdul Medjid—his character—
Turkish soldiery—their discipline—equipment—Organization of the Turkish army
—The navy—Demoralizing effects of the conscription—Reforms of the Sultan—
Difficulties the Government has to contend against—Influence of foreigners in
Turkey—The late Cosrew Pacha—his extraordinary elevation to power—Halil
Pacha—Omar Pacha—sketch of his military career . . . . . . . . p. 197.
CHAPTER, XVI.
Russia—The Black Sea—Circassia–Progress of Russia in the East—Observations
upon the war in the Caucasus—Facility of attacking Russia on the Black Sea—
Public opinion in Europe with reference to Russia—Dangers to be apprehended
to the civilization and independence of Europe from Russia . . . . . p. 211
| CHAPTER XVII.
The Black Sea—its Navigation—How Russia obtained possession of it—Arrival at
Odessa—Prosperous state of Odessa—Treaty of Adrianople—Beneficial results to
Russia—Encouragement given by Russia to foreigners—Russian navy—Russian
sailors—Peculation in Russia–Present political position of Russia . . . p. 236
CHAPTER XVIII.
General description of Sebastopol—Situation—Harbour—Fortifications—Sebastopol
as a defensive position—Visit to a subterraneous town—Singular mountain fortress
—Journey to Simpheropol—Balaclava–Its advantages as a harbour—Russians
and Tatars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 252
CHAPTER, XIX.
Journey to Bagtche-Serai—Tatar villages—Description of Bagtche-Serai—Historical
Sketch of the Tatars—How Russia obtained possession of Krim Tatary—Tatar
Tribes—Their habits—Manners—Customs—Russian Steppes—Their Peculiarities
—Impossibility of cultivating them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 261
contexts. ix
CHAPTER, XX.
Journey from Bagtche-Serai—Pass of the Merdven—Beautiful scenery of the Crimea
—Arrival at Aloupka—Visit of the Emperor Nicholas—Description of his person
and manners—Voyage round the Black Sea—Yalta—Caffa—The Cimmerian Bos-
phorus—Kerteh – Interesting ruins — The Isle of Taman–Tumuli—The river
Kouban—Visit to the Tchernemorsky Cossacks . . . . . . . . . p. 281
CHAPTER, XXI.
First View of Circassia—Anapa–Splendid Scenery—Description of Soukoum-Kalé
—Expedition of General Willemineff in Circassia—His reverses—Defeat and
Death—Arrival at Ghelendjik–Its fine Harbour—Advantages to Russia as a mili-
tary station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 297
CHAPTER, XXII.
How Russia obtained possession of Ghelendjik–Fort—Excursion into the Interior
—How Russian Military Roads are made in Circassia—Bay of PChad–Hostility of
the Circassians—Circassian War-cry—Splendid Coast Scenery—Bay of Djook—
Bay of Vadran—Arrival at Pitzounda—Excursion into the Interior—Interesting
Church—Bombora—Visit to a Circassian Town—Circassian Forests—Weapons of
the Crusaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 303
CHAPTER, XXIII.
|
Visit to the Prince of Bombora—Sketch of a Circassian warrior—Dwelling of a Cir-
cassian chieftain—Patriotism of the chieftains of Circassia—Circassian women—
Their personal appearance—Laws against immorality in Circassia—Dress of the
women—Arrival at Soukoum-Kalé—Miserable state of the garrison—Character of
a Russian soldier—His wars in the Caucasus . . . . . . . . . p. 31.5
CHAPTER, XXIV.
Mount Elbrous as seen from the Sea—Coast of Mingrelia—Redout-Kalé–Sketchof
the Town—Tribes of the Caucasus—Insecure rule of Russia in the Caucasus—
Mineral treasures of the Caucasus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 30
CHAPTER, XXV.
Historical sketch of the Caucasus and its inhabitants—Russian intrigue in the Cº-
casus—Elijah Mansour, the first warrior-prophet of the Caucasus—His history cd
mysterious disappearance — His successors Khusi-Moullah and Schamyl-Bey-
Their career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 4
CHAPTER, XXVI.
Schamyl-Bey—His ability as a Ruler—His extraordinary career—The Guerilla;
the Caucasus—His Equipments—Expertness—Skill as an Equestrian—Modeſ:
Warfare—Diſſiculty of subduing the Caucasus . . . . . . . . . . p.
X QON TENTS.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Military discipline of the Guerillas of the Caucasus—How they are maintained—
Duties of a Chieftain—Increasing influence of Schamyl Bey in the Caucasus—The
Bivouack—The Guerilla of the Caucasus—His endurance—Abstinence—Contrast
between him and the Russian soldiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 366
CHAPTER, XXVIII.
General view of the Caucasus—Its productions—Articles of Commerce—System of
Agriculture—Mills—Granaries—Industry of the people—Superior breed of horses
—Sketch of the natural history of the Caucasus . . . . . . . . . p. 374
CHAPTER, XXIX.
The Circassians—Their religion—Sacred groves—Religious observances—Primitive,
manners of the people—Their administration of justice—Code of Laws—Bards of
the Caucasus—Historical records preserved in their traditions—Similarity between
the Circassians and the Spartans in their manners and code of laws . . p. 383
CHAPTER XXX.
Russia considered as a military power — Political importance of the Caucasian
Isthmus–Suggestions respecting the meditated invasion of India—How to .
prevent it—General view of the Caucasian provinces—Concluding remarks. p. 394."
§Ilúširātiſts,
DRAWN BY H. WARREN, AND PRINTED IN COLOURS BY “
W. DICKES & CO.
* PAGE
Schawy, BEx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frontispiece.
THE SULTAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 .
THE TZAR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
A CIRCAssi AN LADY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
§ 00h (§nſºrshings.
PRESBURG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
WIssEGRAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
BUDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
PETERWARDEIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
GUARD-HOUSE on THE AUSTRIAN FRONTIER . . . . . . . . . 64
SERVIAN PEASANTs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
WIDDIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
ARRIVAL AT A WALLACHIAN INN = . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Interror of A WALL ACHIAN INN . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
JASSY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
NoCTURNAL BATTLE witH Wolves . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Coss A&K GUARDHous E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
CoNSTANTINopDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
A. STREET IN Constan'ſ INop LE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
CoEFEE-HOUSE ON THE BoSPHoRUs . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
WALLEY OF THE SWEET WATERs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
TURKISH Soldi FRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
VARNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
SIN ope, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
ODESSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
SEBAs Topol, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
TATAR PEASANTs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
TATAR FARM-YARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
INTERVIEW BETWEEN Russi ANS AND CIRCAssIANs . . . . . . 303
INTERIOR OF A CIRCAsssſ AN CHIEFTAIN’s DWELLING . . . . . .315
GUERILLA WAR FARE IN THE CAUCASUs . . . . . . . . . . 330
RAZZIA of CIRCASSIAN GUERILLAs . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
TURKEY, RUSSIA,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA.
INTRODUCTION.
IT is now nearly twenty years since we first directed our
wanderings towards those remote countries of Eastern Europe
and Asia, rendered so interesting in our day by having
become the theatre of a war, on one side at least, the most
unjust and unprovoked ever recorded in the history of
nations. t -
Even at that early period, although attracted more by a
love of adventure, and a desire to explore lands so little
known, than by any intention of depicting their social, moral,
and political condition, we learned enough of Russian in-
trigue to come to the conclusion that the country we then
visited would probably sooner or later become absorbed in
that unwieldy mass of nationalities, creeds, and races, the
Russian empire. ^
At each subsequent visit down to our last tour in 1851,
we found the same machinery at work, but more perfected in
its arrangements, by means of which Russia first demoralizes,
B
ii INTRODUCTION,
and then destroys her victim. For, whether we wandered in
Turkey or Persia, in the midst of Tatary or on the summits
of the Caucasus, we were certain to find her agents; usually
either Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, or Poles, clever adven-
turers, who might be easily discovered by their careful train-
ing, the general information they possessed, and, above all, by
the facility with which they spoke several languages; their sole
rule of action being, how or by what means they could best
advance the interests of a paymaster, who rewards the tact
and talent of his servants with a bountiful hand.
It is scarcely necessary to remind those among our readers
who may have done us the honour to peruse our former works
on those remote countries of Eastern Europe and Asia, that
we endeavoured to show the day was not far distant when
Europe would find herself involved in a war, as fanatic in its
origin, as aggressive in its spirit, as any waged by the Tatar
chiefs Tamerlane or Ghenghis Khan against the liberties and
civilization of mankind. Centuries have passed away since
the irruption of these barbarian hordes; civilization, and
every art conducive to the peace and prosperity of man, have
advanced with a rapidity hitherto unknown in the history of
the world; yet these Slavo-Tatar tribes of Moscovy are but
little in advance of their barbarian ancestors, the predatory
hordes that laid in ruins some of the finest countries in Our
hemisphere.
The present Tzar of Russia, were he in the highest degree
civilized and humane, could not control a million of bayonets,
officered by men who look to their sword as the means that
INTRODUCTION. * iii
must win them wealth and honour. Neither can he curb an
ambitious aristocracy, and a fanatic people, possessed with the
belief that they are destined by heaven to propagate their
own peculiar creed, the only orthodox faith, and give laws to
the world. Nay, the enterprise is considered by every true
Moscovite as a sacred duty, bequeathed to him to perform
by Peter the Great, and he believes it to be as binding upon
him to execute as if it were a command from on High.
It may, therefore, be assumed that the Emperor of Russia
is not altogether a free agent in the present aggression, and
that any other line of policy than that of pandering to the
prejudices and Superstitions of a people who may have ima-
gined that the hour was come for carrying into execution
their long meditated projects, might endanger the Safety of
his throne. Be this as it may, it is certain that the war
mania has assumed a fearful development among all classes
in Russia, especially a war with the infidel Moslem, which
opens the prospect of fresh acquisitions of lands and Serfs to
the grandees of the empire, and to the military the certainty
of replenishing their empty coffers by rapine.
This has been the motive power of all semi-barbarous con-
querors down to the present day: rapine in One class, and
fanaticism in the other. This was the agency by which the
first Peter built up his colossal empire, and this has been the
policy of his successors, the means whereby they have been
enabled to hold together under their rule so many hostile
tribes and nationalities, prevented insurrection at home, and
we know, from accounts that may be relied upon, there was
iy INTRODUCTION.
no time to be lost in turning the thoughts of the public mind
into a safer channel than moodily brooding over the evils in
the social and political condition of the country.
How, then, can the Tzar pause in his march of conquest,
arrest the mighty engine of which he is the compulsory
director, when the safety of the state, and the will of the
nation, require that he should proceed?
What, then, is to be done with such a government, with
such a people'ſ “Deprive them of the power of disturbing
the peace of the world, by driving them back to their barren
steppes,” would be the answer of any man unacquainted with
the real state of Europe. It is true that either France or .
England might achieve such an enterprise single-handed; but
what security could either of these powers give to all the
petty despots and intolerant priests of Europe, that their
own democratic subjects would not rise en masse, and de-
throne them, when their mighty protector had lost the power
to support them The Tzar knows this; and feeling secure
of their assistance in the event of a European war, laughs at
the threats of free England.
Unhappily, this dread of the advance of democratic prin-
ciples, and its paralysing influence on the policy of the
European powers, has enabled Russia, year after year, to
triumph over the rights of nations, sweep vast provinces and
entire kingdoms from the map of the world, and rule as
dictator in the cabinets of every state in Europe and Asia.
But now that the crisis has actually arrived—the long-
expected war of principles, which must decide whether the
\
INTRODUCTION. v
Slayo-Tatar autocrat of the North is to be the ruler of the
old world, or descend to his proper rank, the monarch of a
semi-barbarous people—we must admit that a heavy respon."
sibility devolves upon Great Britain as the representative and
upholder of free institutions.
It is evident that we cannot look for an ally in Austria, or
among the petty princes of Germany, who have ever been
too fond of temporizing when they should act, of standing
isolated from each other when they should unite, of seeking
to advance their individual interest, instead of endeavouring
by a combined effort to aid the common cause of all. On
the other hand, if we turn to the south of Europe, whether
to Spain, Portugal, or Italy, we shall find, with the exception
of constitutional Piedmont, that the governments of all these
countries are sunk to the lowest state of degradation, bigotry,
and intolerance; dungeons filled with state prisoners, and no
confidence existing between the monarch and his people.
Indeed, it is only among our gallant neighbours the French,
and our equally gallant cousins of the North, the Swedes, the
Danes, and the Norwegians, that we can discover anything
like energy or independence of character.
The odds, it must be confessed, so far as the rulers of
Europe are concerned, are considerably against us; but as we
have already rescued the Continent from the dominion of one
ambitious conqueror, we have no fear of the result in the
present instance. If therefore, the monarchs of Europe will
side with the enemy, our own interest, and that of the
civilization of the world, compels us to ally ourselves with
Vi INTRODUCTION.
democracy; and, thanks to the general diffusion of intel-
ligence, the people can now estimate as it deserves the
humiliating serfdom of Russia.
Nay, even assuming that rivalry, clashing of interests, or
any other cause, should arise to prevent France and England
from combining to take advantage of the distrust and hatred
now so generally existing between despotic sovereigns and
their subjects, we have not the remotest doubt that free
institutions will be ultimately established in every European
community. At all events, we may be certain that a spirit
is now spreading among nations, whose progress no efforts of
either priest or despot will avail to arrest; a spirit which
that promoter of civilization, the steam-engine, is the instru-
ment of diffusing far and wide, and which must finally break
down every system, institution, and prejudice, that opposes
the progress of enlightenment. The great powers, influenced
by the dread of war and its consequences, may perhaps
induce the belligerents to conclude a peace ; Russia and her
allies may or may not ultimately triumph; still, the great
battle of opinion will only be postponed, to be contested with
greater obstinacy and certainty of success by the rising
generation.
We shall, therefore, for the present leave the destinies of
the world in the hands of France, England, and Russia, and
commence our narrative, hoping to make our readers in some
degree acquainted with those remote countries of Eastern
Europe and Asia, which appear as if destined to become the
battle-field of the old world, the spot where the greatest and
INTRODUCTION. vii
most important question that ever agitated the inhabitants
of civilized Europe is to be decided by force of arms.
Independently of the political interest attached to these
beautiful countries, they open a wide field of observation to
the traveller, and an interesting subject for investigation alike
to the politician, the philosopher, and the man of the world,
who may feel disposed to investigate the causes which retard
or accelerate the progress of nations. Here he will find lands
the most fertile, and a climate the most salubrious of any in
our hemisphere; with the additional advantage of being
everywhere intersected by noble rivers, alike adapted to
inland navigation and all the purposes of irrigation, together
with seas abounding with the finest harbours, inviting, as it
were, the commerce of the world. Yet, with all these gifts of
nature, he will have to wander for the most part through a
wilderness, without either road, bridge, hostelry, or any other
indication of civilized life; and the few inhabitants he meets
with, sunk in the lowest state of Semi-barbarism, the conse-
quence of being subjected for centuries to the rule of princes
who reigned through the instrumentality of the Sword, and
who appear to have been actuated by no other principle of
government than that of isolating their miserable subjects
from all intercourse with the energy, enterprise, and industry
of the civilized West.
Hungary, the first country to which we purpose alluding,
lying between the semi-barbarous East and the enlightened
West, is, without exception, one of the most interesting in
Europe, not more for the heroic bravery her gallant sons
viii INTRODUCTION.
displayed on the battle-field, in defence of their just rights
and liberties, than for the rapid progress they made since the
peace of 1815, in industry and all the arts and sciences of
life—a striking illustration of what a people are capable of
achieving when their civil and political institutions are
founded on the principle of self-government, and the law of
the land secures to every individual, without distinction of
race or creed, the same privileges, rights, and liberties,
PRESBJ &G
CHAPTER I.
The past and present state of Hungary—Incident at an hotel—Count Széchéyi–
his reforms—Triumph of Constitutional rights in Hungary—Revival of the
Magyar language—Count Széchényi as a legislator—Kossuth and his party–
his great influence—Intrigues of Austria and Russia–Causes that led to the
war in Hungary–Melancholy aspect of Hungary in 1850–Character of Kos-
suth—Difficulties he had to contend with–Treachery of General Görgey—
Cruelty of the Austrian Government—Erecution of Count Louis Bathyani—
Suicidal policy of Austria–Russian influence in Austria–Irresponsible power,
and its consequences.
EveRy traveller, on entering the land of the Magyar, from
Germany, must be struck with the marked difference in the
characteristics of the people. Instead of the quiet, patient,
methodical German, he sees a bold, daring, dashing fellow,
who seems born to be independent. The one gives you the
idea of a peaceable, hard-working citizen, that you might
lead with a silken thread; the other, that of a fierce warrior,
who would not allow himself to be robbed of his liberty,
without unsheathing his sword in its defence.

10 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
It is now nearly twenty years since we first visited Hun-
gary. Its inhabitants were then slowly recovering from the
losses they had sustained during the disastrous wars of
Austria against Napoleon, and a long-continued contest—the
contest of centuries, when they stood alone as the barrier
against the Turks, who, like the Russians in the present day,
menaced the whole of Europe with subjugation.
A tour in Hungary was, at this time, considered by the
quiet Germans as a very dangerous enterprise. Indeed it was
with no little difficulty that a couple of fellow-students and
myself succeeded in prevailing with our domine to accom-
pany us in a visit to that country; and then, to provide
against every contingency, it was considered necessary to be
armed to the teeth. .
During the first few days of our journey we met with no
adventure worth recording, till we entered that vast table-
land which separates Pest from the Carpathian Mountains.
Here we took up our quarters at a little road-side inn; when,
lo! at the moment we were about to sit down to a capital
dinner, two Hungarian noblemen and their attendants, all
well mounted, and dressed in the picturesque costumes of
the Magyars, entered the court-yard ; when, with all the
insolence of authority, their saucy domestics peremptorily
commanded the landlady to send in our Savoury repast to
their masters, who had retired to a private room.
What was to be done? A Hungarian magnat was accus-
tomed to be implicitly obeyed, and our good-natured Germans,
no doubt pitying the dilemma of the hostess, felt inclined to
consent. Ourselves, however, and an English fellow-student
who accompanied us, fully imbued with that stubborn spirit
of independence which John Bull so often exhibits to the
wondering inhabitants of the Continent, entertained a very
different opinion; and as the request had been so discour-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 11
teously urged, we positively forbade the abstraction of a single
dish from our repast. The war of words grew louder and
louder, threatening each moment to end in a battle as San-
guinary as any fought in the olden time by the Turks for the
possession of one of those capacious copper caldrons which
it is said would contain sufficient food to Satisfy a regiment
of soldiers. At length the dispute attracted the attention of
the magnats, who on receiving an explanation laughed heartily
at the contretémps, withdrew the claim, and agreed to accept
as a favour an invitation to share our dinner.
How gaily they quaffed the wine ; how heartily they
laughed at the pugnacious resistance of John Bull when his
dinner was threatened; and how little, how very little,
did those two noblemen, then in the full spring of health
and manly vigour, dream of the melancholy fate which at
a later period awaited them | Count Stephen Széchényi,
after devoting the best years of his life, and the best energies
of his mind, to the service of his beloved country, unable to
witness the sad reverses she sustained, is now a confirmed
maniac. The other, Count Louis Bathyani, after distinguish-
ing himself as a patriot and a hero in defence of her liberties,
died the death of a felon, by the hand of an Austrian execu-
tioner. But the day will come when his countrymen will
avenge on Austria the judicial murder of one of their bravest
patriots.
Trifling as this incident may appear to the untravelled
reader, it tells most eloquently of the state of feudal vassalage
in which the inhabitants of Hungary were then held by their
imperious lords, and contrasts strongly with the improved
condition in which we found her social institutions when we
again visited this country, on our way to the East, in 1847;
and we much doubt if any people, even our own indefatigable
Anglo-Saxons, could have made in so short time a greater
I2 , TURKEY, RUSSIA,
progress in civilization and all that conduces to the happiness
and prosperity of a nation, than this people, who gloried in
being called the English of Eastern Europe.
Feudal vassalage was for ever abolished; all classes, and of
whatever race—whether Magyar, Croat, Serb, or Wallack–
were elevated to the dignity of freemen; the rights and
privileges of the small landed proprietors specifically defined;
and various reforms introduced indispensable to the well-
being of the people. In addition to this, all religions were
tolerated; neither did the profession of any creed whatever
incapacitate a man from holding the highest offices of the
state. *
To a traveller like ourselves, who remembered a country
destitute of roads, rivers without bridges, peasants half naked,
towns and cities unpaved and unlighted, huts built of wood
or mud, barges laboriously drawn by degraded serfs, the
improved condition of every thing that now met our view
seemed like the realization of a fairy tale. Pest, Buda, Pres-
burg, and all the other great towns and cities, could boast of
palaces and public buildings, which would be admired for
the beauty of their architecture even in the meridian of
London and Paris; stagnant moats, which shed around their
pestilential exhalations, were filled up and converted into
public promenades; a magnificent suspension bridge, thrown
across the Danube, connected Pest and Buda; while hospitals
and benevolent institutions, richly endowed, had been esta-
blished to relieve the wants of the poorer part of the popula-
tion. If we penetrated into the rural districts, they also
exhibited all the indications of prosperity—comfortable farm-
houses, villages, and roadside inns, everywhere met the view,
together with an improved system of agriculture. At the
same time, the number of steam-boats that kept moving to
and fro on the bosom of the mighty Danube, the Save, and
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 13
the Theiss, carrying the produce of the country into foreign
lands, and returning with the manufactures and luxuries of
France and Great Britain, gave evidence of the increasing
wealth and prosperity of the country.
For all these blessings, Hungary is principally indebted to
the high administrative talents and indefatigable activity of
Count Széchényi; to whom no difficulty appeared insur-
mountable, no enterprise impossible, when it had for its
object the regeneration of his country. Having succeeded in
breaking down all the barriers that existed between the noble
and the peasant, in abrogating all the feudal rights and privi-
leges enjoyed by the former, he extorted from the Emperor
of Austria, as King of Hungary, the recognition of the con-
stitutional rights and independence of his country—an inde-
pendence that, in obedience to the despotic court of Vienna,
had been so long and unjustly withheld, so far as it could be
done by refusing his sanction to convoking the Diet.
How deserving of praise, what a prudent legislator, was
this great Hungarian, when we remember that all this was
achieved without violence and without any infringement of
the law; yet this extraordinary man was neither an elegant
Orator nor a brilliant writer; but he possessed in a high
degree what so many popular leaders want—practical good
Sense, and a disinterested earnestness which those who dif-
fered from him in opinion, may even his worst enemies, could
not but acknowledge. In short, he was the man suited to
the times; he knew the energy and the ardour of his country-
men when they once took up a question, and his great mind
became at once convinced that the institutions of his country
required reform, and to deny it would only pave the way to
revolution and anarchy. -
After having, by almost superhuman exertions, triumphed
over every difficulty, and acquired the confidence, respect,
14 RUSSIA, TURKEY,
and affection of all classes, he determined to attempt the
restoration of the Magyar language, which up to this time
had been entirely neglected by the higher classes, who,
despising the national language as barbarous, spoke nothing
in the drawing-room but German, English, and French ;
while the Latin language was employed in the debates at the
Diet, and in all legal and official documents.
As may be supposed, in a country like Hungary, composed
of so many nationalities—Croats, Germans, and Servians, with
Wallacks and other Slavonian tribes, each speaking a different
dialect, and all opposed to the Magyarizing efforts of the
great Hungarian reformer—the attempt to establish a uni-
form language was necessarily an undertaking of great diffi-
culty and danger to the repose of the country.
The Magyars being the rulers of the country, the lords of
the soil, and the most numerous of all the nationalities in
Bungary, naturally desired the general adoption of their
language; still the proposition was met by those among the
Magyar nobles who were accustomed to bask in the sun-
shine of courtly favour at Vienna, with the most decided
opposition. Count Széchényi, however, was not the man to
hesitate when any measure beneficial to the national interests
was required, and, being fully aware of the mysterious in-
fluence a national language possesses over the imagination
and affections of a people—its tendencies to create an attach-
ment for their country, its liberties and independence—boldly
determined to brave every obstacle, and bring the matter to
an issue. For this purpose he rose in his place as a Senator,
at the Diet held in Presburg, and in a forcible oration in the
Magyar language, the most eloquent, it is said, that he ever
delivered, took his opponents by surprise. The nervous
energy of his diction, so different from the cold phlegmatic
German, or the powerful but less vivid Latin, electrified his
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 15
audience. But he was now speaking the language he had
lisped on his mother's knee-the language of his Parthian
ancestors—that in which Attila, Arpad, Zoltan, Zoxis, and
a hundred other heroes and chieftains of his race, gave laws
to the surrounding nations, when they held half the rulers
of Europe and Asia as their tributaries.
It is hardly necessary to say, that Count Széchényi gained
the day, and that the language of the Magyars, which had
survived every attempt made during a thousand years by the
Slavonian, the Turk, and the German to destroy it, was found
to be, not only one of the most vigorous, expressive, sonorous
and flexible spoken by any nation, but admirably adapted as
a vehicle for expressing their thoughts by the historian, the
poet, the philosopher, and the Orator. Hence, by the unani-
mous consent of the Diet, it became that authorized by the
state in all affairs connected with the administration of the
Ringdom of Hungary; and funds were soon raised to pro-
mote its general dissemination, by establishing schools and
colleges in every city, town, and village throughout the
country.
The abandonment of the German and Latin languages in
everything connected with the administration of Hungary,
was a great triumph of the Magyars over the influence of
Austria; this being one of the means through which that
unprincipled power had sought for centuries to destroy the
nationality of a people she could never subdue by force of
arms. Peremptory commands were repeatedly issued to all
her civil, military, and political officers, to use no other than
a foreign language in the official acts of the government;
and to render it still more stringent, no official document
was considered valid unless written in the Latin or German
language. Still all her arts, intrigues, and menaces, could
not prevent the Magyar language, now that the movement
| 6 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
had commenced, from becoming the medium of conversation
in all the circles of fashionable life, and with every man,
whether Magyar, Croat, or Serb, whose soul aspired to free-
dom; while those who neglected to speak it were considered
by their countrymen as the slaves of Austria.
In short, the spirit of the people was now thoroughly
aroused; and such was the rage of all classes to acquire the
language of the Magyars and declaim in it, that in an incre-
dibly short space of time, there was not a gentleman in
Hungary, of whatever race, who did not use it. The clergy
adopted it in the pulpit, the counsellor at the bar, while the
orator in the Diet made the old walls of the Senate-house
at Presburg echo and re-echo with the same passionate
heart-stirring strains which summoned to arms the ancient
Parthians when their country was invaded by the Persians,
the Greeks, and the Romans. But this was not all; printers
could not be found in the whole of Hungary and Austria in
sufficient numbers to execute the literary works that were daily
placed in the hands of the publishers at Pest, Presburg, and
in all the great towns and cities of the kingdom—all original,
and written with a view to illustrate some of the most heroic
and exciting periods in the history of the Magyars. At the
same time the theatres were nightly filled to overflowing
with an enthusiastic people, who received with loud and con-
tinued plaudits the slightest allusion to any subject con-
nected with the valour of their forefathers, or the rights,
liberties, and independence of Hungary. -
Up to this time, and so long as Count Széchényi guided
the popular mind, the affairs of the country went on
prosperously. Even the despotic Emperor of Austria, the
enemy of liberty and reform in any shape, could not
refuse, as King of Hungary, however much it might mili-
tate against the policy of his cabinet, a reluctant consent
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. I7
to the demands of the great Hungarian legislator, who, with-
out going to extremes, sought only to remedy those abuses
which every impartial man could not but admit required
redress.
A new leader, however, rose to celebrity about this time,
differing in character and opinions from any that Hungary
had hitherto produced. This was Louis Kossuth; as distin-
guished for the extraordinary talents he evinced as an orator
in the Senate of his country, as for the boldness and vigour
he displayed as a writer. Sprung from the ranks of the
people, he soon became their idol; his popularity entirely
eclipsing that of the veteran reformer, Count Széchényi, or
any other of the champions of the liberal party. This event,
however, unhappily had the effect of dividing Hungary into
three great political parties. '.
The Austrian, or conservative, were for preserving the old
order of things. The adherents of Count Széchényi aimed
at establishing a constitutional monarchy, similar to that of
England ; while Kossuth and his followers, who may be
termed the extreme democratic party, were for remodelling
society on a basis which would ensure to the people for
the future equal rights, protected industry, and impartial
justice. *
With great adroitness, Kossuth at first succeeded in win-
ning over to his cause some of the most influential magnates
of the land; and at the same time, in restraining the violence
of the masses; but neither his eloquence nor influence availed
in the end to allay the general enthusiasm; the people had
learned to know their power, and nothing short of the most
sweeping reforms in everything that pressed on the energy
and industry of the country would satisfy them.
The fever of popular excitement was at its height when we
arrived at Pest, in the year 1847; it also happened to be
C
18 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
while one of those great annual fairs was being held in that
town, which always attract an immense concourse of people
from every part of Hungary and the adjoining states. The
motley multitude filled the spacious market-place and all the
principal streets, the inns and public places, and by their
animated impassioned manner, appeared as if they had met
by common consent for the purpose of discussing their
grievances. Kossuth's name was on every lip—the rallying
cry for the rights of Hungary, liberty, and independence.
An election scene in England is undoubtedly highly cha-
racteristic of the customs and manners of a free people, and
sometimes not a little exciting; but these Asiatics as we now
saw them, with their bronzed complexions, fiery eyes, and ex-
Tyressive features, shaded with the broad sombrera hat, devour-
ing every word that fell from their political leaders, and
frequently responding with a loud “Eljen a haza!” showed
that the heart of the Magyar people was stirred to its inmost
depths, and that the most trifling incident—the slightest
opposition on the part of the magnates and the government
to redress their grievances—would kindle a blaze not easy
to extinguish. It was the first delirium of freedom, the out-
burst of an entire people, who had toiled and suffered, fought
and bled for centuries, only to uphold the oppressive rule of
a line of princes alien to their race, their country, and to
their creed.
Count Széchényi, the first originator of the movement,
trembled at the storm he had evoked; and finding he had
lost his influence, left the field to Louis Kossuth, and re-
signed himself to the most gloomy anticipations. He knew
his countrymen—their virtues and defects, their open-heart-
edness and contempt of danger—and felt confident, now they
had thrown off all restraint, that they must fall victims to
the perfidious policy of Austria. These were the last words
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 19
we heard from this great Hungarian patriot when we parted
from him in the autumn of 1847.
Alas! they were too soon verified. Poor people! while
they were indulging in the contemplation of a happy future,
when all their grievances were to be redressed, there was an
under current at work, gradually but surely sapping the
welfare of the country, and the fact of the Magyar language
having become by authority that of the state, was made the
pretext for exciting jealousy and discontent in all the other
races subject to Magyar rule, which spreading from place
to place, at length produced one of the most Savage and
Sanguinary wars of races perhaps on record, hardly exceeded
in ferocity by the far-famed Sicilian Vespers.
The real facts of the case are these. Austria, Russia, and
all the petty despots of Germany and Italy, were alarmed at
the extraordinary progress the Magyars had made, not only
in civilization, but at the ability they had displayed in
giving to their institutions a more liberal character than any
they had hitherto attained. They saw with dismay that an
emergetic people were springing up in the east of Europe, who,
in consequence of some remarkable similarity in their tem-
perament or character, exhibited in every period of their
history the same dogged resolution, the same love of self-
government, as the Anglo-Saxons of the west—the only
people who clung with unchanging tenacity to their freedom
and independence. To have an enemy to despotism in the
west, truly was bad enough, but to behold a similar bugbear
arise in the east, could not be borne by any irresponsible
ruler. Besides, should it happen by any unforeseen combina-
tion of events, that these two nations should form an alliance
offensive and defensive, the reign of despotism would be termi-
nated, at least in Europe. The decree therefore went forth that
constitutional Hungary, the lesser enemy, must be destroyed.
20 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
The manner in which the horrible mandate was executed
forms a lamentable episode in the modern history of the
world. On our return homeward through Hungary in 1850,
we found the entire country a wide-spread scene of desolation,
her children slaughtered with fire and sword, and too many
of those dear friends whose hospitality we had enjoyed only
a few years previously, were now languishing in prison,
driven into exile, or dead, having met the death of heroes on
the battle-field. These were indeed patriots in the fullest
sense of the word—their love of country pure and unalloyed,
without that dreaming crotchety philosophizing cant which
we find in some countries passes current for patriotism. They
had offered life, fortune, honour, family, all at the shrine of
their country's independence, and if they raised the standard
of revolt against the rule of the half-witted prince of the
house of Habsburg they had crowned king of Hungary—
or more properly speaking, against the perfidies of the
Vienna camarilla which then ruled in his name—it was not
till the whole Magyar people had been driven to desperation
by its cold-blooded atrocity, in having, as we before said,
armed and excited to rebellion all the various creeds and
races, which at this time acknowledged the sovereignty of the
Hungarian Government.
This circumstance should always be borne in mind when
judging of the insurrection in Hungary; we ought also to
remember that an Austrian sovereign is not by hereditary
right the king of Hungary; the crown is elective, and the
country as independent of all foreign influence as England,
and its inhabitants as free to reform their institutions, their
laws, and their system of government, when authorized by a
decree of the Senate.
Hungary, however, has been amply avenged, in the suc-
cession of disasters, humiliations and disgraces that have
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 21
since accumulated, and continue to accumulate on the
Austrian empire, which no system of administration can now
Save from utter ruin. Hungary was the last link in the
chain that held together the heterogeneous assemblages of
nationalities of which that empire is composed, and having
Severed this, all chance of preserving it has become hopeless.
She may for a time linger on, so long as she does the bid-
ding of her imperious taskmaster, the Slavo-Tatar Tzar of
Russia, but her fate is certain, and must be that of every
power whose system of administration is founded on the most
uncompromising despotism, intolerance, and oppression.
But to return to the state in which we found Hungary in
1850. The scene of ruin and desolation which everywhere
met our view was perfectly appalling, whether we wandered
On the banks of the T)anube, the Save, or the Theiss, or in
the high lands of Transylvania, we beheld traces of the bar-
barian hordes of half wild Croats, Wallacks, and Serbs, and
we may add Austrians and Russians, who had so lately rode
roughshod over the entire land, and by imperial authority
massacred every human being of Magyar origin who fell into
their hands; and even at this time, when it might be supposed
that the worst passions of man's nature would have been
Satiated by indulgence, there was scarcely any abatement in
the cruelties exercised by the government towards this un-
fortunate people. The brutality of the soldiers was unre-
strained, the vexatious insolence of the police unendurable—
the sufferings of the unhappy prisoners who filled the dun-
geons of the fortresses and all the strong places were such as
revengeful tyranny alone delights to inflict. In short, the
whole country was in a state of siege, spies civil and eccle-
siastical, not only exercised their surveillance over every
public assembly, but invaded with impunity the Sanctuary
of the hearth; while martial law Superseded a constitution
22 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
which had survived the shocks and storms of a thousand
years. ".
We know there has been a great deal of discussion, and
many opinions have been expressed by men of all parties
with reference to the causes which have led to this terrible
dénouement, some of them by no means favourable to the
national character of the Hungarians. Still, no honest tra-
veller, acquainted with the real facts of the case, can come to
any other conclusion than that Austria was the aggressor,
instigated, as nobody pretends to deny, by Russia, whose
projects of aggrandisement in Eastern Europe would cer-
tainly have been checked if Hungary had been allowed time
to consolidate her new-born institutions, especially to redress
the wrongs and win the affections of the other races, not of
Magyar origin, who acknowledged her sway. In this aliena-
tion of feeling among so large a portion of its population
consisted the real weakness of the Magyars, for which she
paid the penalty in the hour of trial.
With respect to the assertion so frequently made by certain
parties in England, that Louis Kossuth was mainly instru-
mental in hastening the catastrophe, we are inclined to think
the conclusion is erroneous. That he was less prudent, less
trusted by the great, influential magnates of the land, and
many of the Superior officers of the army, than his prede-
cessor, Count Széchényi, because more democratic in his
tendencies, when he arrived at power, there can be no ques-
tion; yet, it is much to be doubted whether he, or any other
living man, could have restrained the headlong violence of so
excitable a people as the Magyars, when they learned the full
extent of the perfidy of a sovereign, who had sworn, not only
to defend their rights and liberties, but to protect them from
the aggression of a foreign foe. In fact, from the moment
the Ban of Croatia, Jellachich, received the commands of the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, 23
Emperor of Austria, as King of Hungary, to invade their
country, and destroy the inhabitants with fire and sword,
any further remonstrance was useless. They then saw clearly
that the question could only be decided by force of arms;
and how long and how gallantly they defended their rights
and liberties will form one of the most interesting episodes in
the modern history of Europe.
Many of the officers of the Hungarian army, as well as
private individuals with whom we conversed, will not admit
that General Görgey was a traitor. Granting this, however,
in our opinion he most assuredly exhibited the greatest
amount of imbecile folly that ever disgraced a commander.
For what inconceivable purpose did he surrender his army,
helpless and disarmed, into the hands of an enemy, without
obtaining some guarantee for a general amnesty'ſ
In this case, where men were fighting, as it were, with a
halter around their necks, if he could not ensure their Safety,
at least he ought to have allowed them the satisfaction of
dying on the battle-field. Besides, the position of Hungary
at that moment was not so desperate as to warrant such a
disgraceful capitulation. There was a gallant army, flushed
with recent victory, still unsubdued, and a brave, enthusi-
astic people, ardently hoping that another victory would
decide the question in their favour, as the rainy Season must
shortly commence, when the inclemency of the weather would
be sufficient to sweep their enemies from every part of the
country, and give them time to open the campaign in the
spring with redoubled force and energy.
Of all the brave men who fought and bled for the rights
and liberties of Hungary, Görgey alone received a free pardon;
but of the numbers condemned to death, sentenced to im-
prisonment or exile, by the sanguinary tribunal composed of
Austrian officers, established by the Austrian Government,
24 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
after the capitulation of the Hungarian army, history records
a fearful list: men, for the most part, of the highest rank,
not more deserving our admiration for their public and
private virtues, than for the humanity they displayed in
succouring and protecting the Austrian and Russian prisoners
from the vengeance of an outraged people. Happily for
mankind, the world has been but seldom cursed with a traitor
so heartless as Görgey, or a government so merciless as that
of Austria.
Of this we have sufficient proof when we say, that, out of
thirty-three generals who led the Hungarian armies to battle,
and fought and conquered on many an eventful day, twelve
were shot, or died a felon's death; the others were either sen-
tenced to imprisonment, or escaped to foreign lands, there to
linger out their existence in hopeless peril. Colonels and
majors, nay, every branch of the service, shared a similar
fate; nor were unoffending women exempted from the most
merciless treatment, since several even of the highest rank
were dragged from their homes, and publicly stripped and
flogged, like the lowest order of felons, amidst the jeers and
scoffs of Austrian and Russian officers. The recollection of
these atrocities, executed by command of that disgrace to the
profession of a soldier, General Haynau, and with the Sanction
of the Austrian Government, will never be blotted from the
memory of the Hungarian, unless by a retribution the most
terrible.
But, of all the judicial murders perpetrated in the name
of the law, not one has left so deep an impression of Austrian
perfidy upon the Hungarian people as that of Count Louis
Bathyani, one of the richest landed proprietors in Hungary,
and universally revered for his patriotism and the excellence
of his private character. He was the friend of Count Széch-
ényi, and, like that great legislator, a man of moderate views,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 25
cautious in his language, and favourable to a union with
Austria, believing it to be the most effectual barrier against
Russian aggression; and like him, he did everything in his
power to arrest an appeal to arms by accepting the dangerous
office of mediator between the King of Hungary and the
people.
Notwithstanding he neither cherished nor aided the design
of separating Hungary from Austria, and never took up arms
against his sovereign, having been detained a prisoner from
the commencement of the war, he was accused of high treason,
and condemned to be hanged. .
His real crime has never transpired, unless it might be
that, while exercising, and with the sanction of the King of
Hungary, the office of prime minister, he despatched an army
to oppose the Ban of Croatia, though at this time that chief
of the Croats had been declared a rebel and a traitor by the
Government at Vienna. The prospect of so ignominious a
death plunged the unhappy nobleman into such a state of
dejection, that he made several desperate attempts to destroy
himself, by cutting his throat with his penknife; and al-
though his life was despaired of, he was lifted from his bed
by these merciless ministers of Austrian justice, and borne to
the place of execution, when, finding it impossible to carry
out the Sentence by hanging, the punishment of their victim
was of necessity commuted to being publicly shot as a
traitor. * ...”
Eljen a haza / were the last words of the noble patriot, as
he fell pierced to the heart by the bullets of the Austrian
soldiers. Eljen a haza 1 as Sure as there is justice in Heaven,
will be the knell of Austrial Crimes such as this are cer-
tain to be avenged. -
Independently of any considerations arising from the
justice of the cause, or motives of humanity, now that all is
26 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
over, and the sword of the Tzar and the Kaiser has destroyed
the thousand-year monarchy of the brave Magyars, the con-
viction is reluctantly forced upon us that our own govern-
ment did not act on this occasion with that vigour the
importance of the crisis demanded.
Let us view the question in whatever light we may, recent
events compel us to admit that we have not been sufficiently
alive to the importance of preserving Hungary independent,
as a check to Russian ambition. Under no pretence what-
ever should that power have been allowed to interfere with
the sword in the quarrel between Austria and Hungary. It
was, in fact, a repetition of the same suicidal policy which
permitted Poland to be blotted out from among the nations
of Europe, and so many of the fairest and most fertile
countries in Europe and Asia, annexed to the dominions of
a power whose history has exhibited, from the time of the
first Peter, a series of aggressions on the territories of her
neighbours, in contempt of all existing treaties, alliances,
and conventions with the great powers of Europe. Hence we
now see her frontier extended from the steppes on the Don
and Wolga to the Araxas in Central Asia, every inch of
which has been obtained by fraud and violence, in the same
manner as she has now seized upon Wallachia and Moldavia;
and, under the pretext of religion, threatens Turkey herself
with utter subversion.
Happily for mankind, irresponsible power has a direct
tendency to inflame the passions, harden the heart, and
deaden the intellect; the possessor almost universally in-
dulging in an arrogant infatuation that he is above all law,
consults no other counsellor than his own will, and is too
apt to believe that mankind will submit implicitly to his
dictation. f -
It may be that some such extravagant belief as this has
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 27
prompted the self-willed Autocrat of the North to dare the
united force of two powers possessed of the immense resources
of France and England, who by their combined action, have
now an opportunity of vindicating the Supremacy of truth
and justice over barbarism and overbearing might. On the
other hand, if by the dread of consequences, or any other
fear, they decide upon concluding a peace hostile to the inte-
rests of Turkey, or connive at the sacrifice of an inch of her
territory, a distrust will be engendered in the minds of the
people against their rulers, which, like any other moral epi-
demic, will spread into the neighbouring countries. A crusade
will then be preached against princes, and who can tell what
will be the end of such a struggle 7 May it not terminate in
a European republic, and thus fulfil the well-known predic-
tion of Napoleon'?
28 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
CHAPTER II.
Național traits of the Magyars—Different races inhabiting Hungary—Characteristics
of the Magyars—Their early history—Their wars—Their love of free institu-
tions—Accession of the princes of the house of Austria to the throne of Hun-
gary—Their demoralizing rule—Réflections on the policy of the princes of the
house of Habsburg. 2.
WHATEVER may have been the cause, whether pride of race,
or any peculiar feature inherent in the character of the
Magyars, they have never sought or desired to amalgamate
with any of the races over which they have been called to rule.
Hence, we find in the present day, although more than a thou-
sand years have elapsed since their forefathers conquered the
country they now inhabit—the ancient Pannonia; they are
as distinct in their features, manners, dress, and language as
when their ancestors first struck their tents on the plains of
the ancient Parthia. It is entirely owing to this want of
unanimity and friendly feeling, which exists in a greater or
less degree among all the nationalities that inhabit Eastern
Europe, that the Germans on the one side, and the Turks on
the other, have succeeded in keeping in Subjection some of
the most warlike tribes in the world.
The different races which now inhabit Hungary consist of
the Magyars, and several tribes of Slavonians, called Croats,
Serbs, and Sclawaks together with Wallacks, and a few hun-
dred thousand Saxons and Gipsies, giving altogether a popu-
lation of about 15,000,000, of whom 6,000,000 are Magyars,
and if to these we add the Szeklers—a mixed race, who pride
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 29
themselves on being called Magyars, and who are in fact
descended from the fierce warriors that first settled in this
country under their great leader Attila, the far-famed king
of the Huns, we may compute the Magyar nationality at up-
Wards of 7,000,000, and perhaps even more when we call to
mind that at the last census, to the great surprise of the Austrian
Government, there was scarcely a family in Hungary, whatever
might be their race or tribe, that did not manifest a desire to
trace their descent from Magyar ancestors, even though the
alliance might be very remote, thereby showing how much this
nationality has advanced in the estimation of the other races
since their glorious struggle for liberty in 1848 and 1849.
There can be no doubt, and modern travellers confirm the
assertion, that this heroic race, the Magyars, derive their
origin from the ancient Parthians; and it is very remarkable,
that they brought with them from Asia—at every period of
the world the home of despotism in its worst form, a free
Constitution, to which they have clung through all the
transitions of war, invasion, and revolution with a tenacity
scarcely surpassed by that of the Anglo-Saxon race, and like
them, as the natural consequence of living under free consti-
tutions, embraced at a very early period the principles of the
Reformed Church.
Under their first leader, Attila, a man who to extraordinary
military talents united an iron will, great energy of character,
and who was at the same time as remarkable for his great
physical strength and symmetry of form, they may be said
to have divided the empire of the world with the ancient
Romans. The whole of the Scythian, Illyrian, and German
tribes acknowledged the sway of the Parthian chief, and not
a few of the chieftains of France, Burgundy, and the northern
nations, became his tributaries. He declared war and con-
cluded peace on equal terms with the emperors of China and
30 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Rome; kings, princes, and mighty chieftains served him as
domestics; and when he took the field he could muster more
than half a million of as daring horsemen as ever drew a
sword, or wielded a lance.
In short, the career of this extraordinary man was one
continued series of successes. Wherever he led his troops,
town after town, city after city, country after country,
submitted to his sway. In vain one Roman army after
another attempted to dispute his passage, they fell like leaves
in autumn. He was at length assassinated, according to the
Hungarian historians, by the hand of one of his wives, the
beautiful Ildico—a young Christian, believed to have been
instigated to the deed by Leo, the Bishop of Rome, from
whom it is said he received the appellation of the “Scourge
of God.”
Like every other power built up by conquest, no sooner
had the hero expired who imparted life and vigour to his
followers, than the empire of the Huns fell to pieces. Other
tribes, however, of the same family, having followed their
brethren to Europe, succeeded in establishing themselves in
the ancient Pannonia, under the name of Magyars. Equally
valorous, and equally predatory as their adventurous prede-
cessors, these also became the terror of Europe under their
great chieftain Arpad, and his warlike descendants.
Happily for the peace of the surrounding nations, they
were converted to Christianity under the rule of Geisa, whose
glorious son King Stephen (surnamed the Saint), in the year
1000, established the Hungarian monarchy on the basis and
according to the principles of the civilized law of nations.
Erom this time, the history of the Magyars was chiefly
distinguished for a continued contest between the sovereign
for the prerogatives of the crown, and the people for their
liberty, who never would tamely submit to be deprived of it;
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 31
till at length, by force of arms, they wrung from King
Andrew II, their famous Magna Charta Libertatum. From
this time, the will of the people reigned supreme, and on the
extinction of the line of Arpad their first great heroic chief-
tain, parliament declared that the crown was to be from
henceforth and for ever elective. Under this system of
governing, Hungary continued to make rapid strides in civili-
Zation, industry, and prosperity, and was looked up to by the
Surrounding nations as one of the greatest powers in the
civilized world,
Among those of her monarchs who reigned under the elec-
tive laws of Hungary, Charles Robert of Anjou, and his
gallant son Louis, were the most famous. These warlike
princes not only improved the domestic administration of
the country, but carried her arms successfully into the terri-
tory of her neighbours. Transylvania was incorporated
with the kingdom of Hungary; Naples was conquered,
together with Bulgaria, Servia, Moldavia, Wallachia, Dal-
matia, and part of Bosnia; at the same time the powerful
Khan of Tatary was forced to sue for peace; the whole of
Lithuania wrested from the dukes of Moscovy; and alliances
highly favourable to Hungarian interests formed with Poland,
France, Germany, and all the leading powers of Christendom.
These great monarchs were succeeded by another line of
warlike chieftains, the Hungadis, who became by election
kings of Hungary. The heroic deeds of king Matthias
Corvinus, the gallant son of John Hungadi, one of the
greatest warriors Hungary ever produced, who so long and so
gloriously defended Christendom against repeated irruptions
of the Turks, will live for ever in the page of history. This
monarch was not only a successful warrior, but a wise legis-
lator. He raised Hungary to a higher degree civilization
than any she had hitherto attained, and also to a still more
32 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
elevated position among the nations. Her universities, espe-
cially that of Buda, were celebrated throughout Europe for
the number of learned men they produced, and as a proof of
the high estimation in which the professors were held, it is re-
corded that the banqueting hall in the royal palace of their
patron the king, was assigned for their use, in which they met
to discuss any important question of literature, the arts, or
sciences, which might then occupy the attention of the world.
With recollections like these cherished in their hearts, can
it be supposed that any Hungarian possessed of either pride.
of race, or patriotism, can patiently continue to see his be-
loved country degraded to the position of remaining an
Austrian province? Can he ever forget that in these days
the petty duke of a petty duchy, Austria, was accustomed to
wait like a domestic in the ante-room of the Hungarian king,
till it should be the pleasure of that monarch to grant him
an audience? Some races, it is true, from character, tempera-
ment, and various causes are better able to endure the ills of
slavery than others, the Magyars of Hungary do not belong
to this category—we may therefore feel assured they only bide
their time. In fact, the first germs of the late Hungarian
war of independence were sown 300 years ago,-from the
moment that one portion of the Magyars in 1526, con-
trary to the laws and expressed wishes of the majority of
their countrymen, invested the Duke of Austria, Ferdinand
of Habsburg, with the crown and mantle of St. Stephen.
By this unwise act, which produced a war of succession
between the rival kings, they had allied the destiny of their
country to a family of princes, who since they took their
place among the sovereigns of Europe, became the champions
of absolutism and intolerance in every part of the World.
How could such an unnatural connexion prosper? The con-
sequence has been, that from this period down to the present
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 33.
day, Hungary has been the theatre of an uninterrupted con-
test between the despotic tendencies of the sovereign, and the
liberalism of the people. -
The advent of this ominous race to rule and power was
marked with still greater evils to the country. At this time
Hungary had for its frontier the Black Sea and the Adriatic,
with the whole of the intermediate provinces annexed to its
dominions, all of which were lost, through the incapacity of
the ruling monarch, and his host of cowardly German officers,
who then commanded the Hungarian armies, and usurped all
the great offices of the State, till after a succession of the
most ignominious defeats, the Turks acquired possession of
more than one-half of Hungary. In addition to which, the
inhabitants had to endure all the horrors of religious perse-
cution from the hordes of fanatic priests and intriguing Jesuits
that always follow in the wake of a Habsburg ruler. How-
ever, as the history of Hungary from this time is no doubt
familiar to our readers, we shall draw a veil over the suffer-
ings of a people who deserved a better fate. *
Much as we may extol the valour of the Magyars and
their love of civil and religious liberty, we cannot award
them the praise of being sound politicians, otherwise they
would have had the sagacity to follow the advice of Napoleon
when their old oppressor, Austria, lay conquered at his feet,
and elected an independent sovereign, as their ancestors did
On the field of Rakos. Hence, untrammelled by any engage-
ment with the crumbling house of Habsburg, it would have
been far more advantageous to themselves as an independent
nation, and more satisfactory to Europe in the present aspect
of affairs. The liberty and independence of Hungary must
have led to the independence of Poland; thus, with two
mighty kingdoms adding their weight to the balance of
- European power, such a barrier would have been formed as
D
34 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
must for ever have prevented any serious encroachments of
Russia on the independence of the Turkish empire. What
an auxiliary should we have in the present day, in an enthu-
siastic army of Poles and Hungarians, with their splendid
cavalry, rushing to a contest of life and death against the
hated enemy of their race and country, Russia
The remaining portion of the inhabitants of Hungary, who
number more than one-half of the population, composed of
Wallacks and various tribes of Slavonians, if the truth must
be told, have had but little cause to be satisfied with the rule
of the proud Magyar, who, although the laws of the country
protected the serf from injustice and oppression in its worst
form, never neglected to make them understand they were
the conquered race, and must obey.
To Count Széchényi belongs the honour of being the first
Magyar who directed the attention of the Hungarian legis-
lature to the situation of these long-neglected races; but it
was not till the year 1848, and chiefly through the exertions
of M. Kossuth and his party, that they were elevated to the
same social rank as the Magyar. Unhappily, the concession
came too late; and by lending their aid to the armies of
Russia and Austria, they hastened the catastrophe which left
the Magyars at the mercy of their tyrants.
The inhabitants of Hungary, among whom we may include
the whole of the population of the provinces on the Lower
Danube, are extremely hospitable and fond of strangers, and,
though prone to quarrel among themselves, rarely if ever
maltreat a wanderer from a foreign land. Since our first
visit to these countries, with the exception of those inhabiting
some isolated mountain district, these tribes have made rapid
progress in civilization, and very nearly lost that peculiar
characteristic expression which long continuance in a state of
serfdom is certain to stamp upon a people. In some dis-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 35
tricts, and, indeed, in almost every instance where by inter-
marriage they have amalgamated with their Asiatic conquerors,
they form by far the finest race in Hungary, and are not
surpassed in beauty of feature, symmetry of form, and
general intelligence, by any other people in Europe. Kos-
Suth, Görgey, and hundreds of the bravest civil and military
officers that distinguished themselves during the late Hun-
garian war of independence, were the children of Magyar and
Slavonian parents.
The élite of the Austrian army has always been composed
of its Hungarian-Slavonian soldiers, and its ablest generals
have been, with few exceptions, of this race; a people that
not only far excel the natives of the duchy of Austria in
courage and natural aptitude for warlike exercises, but also
surpass them in a taste for literature and science, and possess
every qualification for attaining the highest rank among
civilized nations. From whatever cause it may arise, the fact
cannot be denied, that there is no energy, no national feeling,
no love of liberty, in the indolent, pleasure-loving inhabitants
of that duchy, nor in the ranks of the mercenary army that
upholds her power. Perhaps it may be, that from having
been from time immemorial the slaves of a despot, and a
hierarchy of intolerant priests, they have lost all independence
of thought and action. The attempt of the Viennese in 1848
to obtain free institutions affords no argument to the con-
trary, since that movement originated with foreigners and
Germans, not natives of the duchy.
That there has been a great want of foresight and capacity
for governing in the rulers of the Austrian empire, and an
element in its system of administration altogether hostile to
the progressive tendencies of the age, we have a lamentable
example in its present position, as contrasted with what it
was at the peace of 1815. Then, although suffering from the
36 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
exhaustion consequent on a long and ruinous war, there was
Scarcely a power in Europe whose future appeared brighter.
She had received from the Allied Powers a large accession of
territory, including some of the most fertile provinces in
Italy, especially those formerly belonging to Venice, on the
Adriatic. In short, there was nothing wanting to her pro-
sperity but the ability to profit by the numerous advantages
so liberally accorded to her by the Allied Powers, with the
hope of enabling her to repel any future attempt of either
France or Russia to interrupt the tranquillity of Europe.
How far she has fulfilled her mission, we leave to the intelli-
gent reader to decide, when he sees in 1854 the once mighty
Austria, the friend and ally of Great Britain, not only the
poorest, but the most feeble state in Europe, having con-
verted into enemies every nationality she had been called
upon to govern, and dependent for her very existence on the
will of an overbearing neighbour, whom she might at any
time have driven to his barren steppes, and, at the head of the
chivalry of Germany, Italy, and Hungary, pushed her con-
quests to the Black Sea, and spread civilization among the
benighted children of Asia, had she a single man in her
government possessed of the foresight to discover the path
that must have led to honour, glory, wealth, and to the
consolidation of a mighty empire. . '
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 37
CHAPTER III.
Discontent in Hungary—Some account of the Slavonian Races on the Lower Danube.
—Russian Panslavism—Illyrian Panslavism—Political and social state of the
Slavonians—Popular Tumults—Prejudices of race—How acted upon by Austrid
in the Hungarian War—Illyria—Slavonian Confederacy—Territory occupied by
the Slavonians—Its value as a defensive position—Critical position of the
Austrian and Turkish Empires.
WHENEVER an impending danger threatens our Safety, more
mischief arises from concealing facts, or distorting them by
misrepresentation or falsehood, than can possibly arise from
a knowledge of the truth, however unpalatable. And truly,
every man who has recently wandered over the continent of
Europe, as we have done, and made himself acquainted with
the sentiments of the inhabitants, cannot but feel persuaded
that we are on the eve of some mighty change.
Instead of those evidences of paternal rule on one side, and
affection on the other, which formerly linked the subject to
a sovereign, whose interests, recollections, and traditions were
united in one common object—their country—he hears the
half-suppressed curses of a people governed by the Sword and
martial law, the substitute for the civil and religious liberty
that had been so often promised, to be again recalled when-
ever it could be done without danger. In addition to this,
he is horrified at seeing peaceable citizens, fathers of families,
torn from their homes, and thrown into prison, not for poli-
tical offences, but what in our day is equally obnoxious to
38 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
a despotic ruler–professing opinions on religious matters not
authorized by the state.
Can we then wonder at the general discontent, or that,
having lost all confidence in their rulers, men should now
turn their thoughts to the establishment of republics, as
their only hope of freedom | *
During our tour in Hungary, we had ample opportunities
of witnessing the general prevalence of this feeling among
all classes and every nationality of that unhappy country.
Austria had now learned, when it was too late, the unpa-
latable truth—the fruits of her own tortuous and dishonest
policy—that instead of having to contend against 6,000,000
of Magyars, whose loyalty might have been won by a simple
act of justice, she must now combat 17,000,000 of Sla-
vonians, whose enmity she had provoked by neglecting to
fulfil the promises with which she purchased their aid in
helping her to subvert the independence of Hungary.
The erection of a Slavonian kingdom on the ruins of that
of the Magyars was one of the lures held out to this numerous
nationality; and their indignation was but natural when they
found that the only return for the Sacrifices they had made
consisted in the exchange of the mild rule of the Magyars for
the harsh despotism and intolerant administration of Austria,
with her vexatious bureaucracy, system of passports, army of
spies, and overwhelming taxation. -
A violent popular tumult, which burst forth among the
Croats at Agram and the Serbs of the Woiavodina, was the
consequence; and, as may be supposed, the state of popular
feeling was not improved by its being replied to with grape-
shot, and their country declared in a state of siege. They
had also the additional mortification of Seeing themselves
exposed to the same martial law, and all the horrors of that
reign of terror they were instrumental in inflicting upon
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 39
their countrymen, the Magyars. But this was not all; they
Saw, with a curse on the lip, and vows of vengeance in the
heart, that the fall of the brave Magyars, ever foremost in
the field when a blow was to be struck for liberty, had
riveted the chains of their slavery still tighter to a govern-
ment that knows no other system of rule, no other code of
state policy to save it from falling, than exciting against
each other the hostility of all the nationalities, creeds, and
races, that have had the misfortune to acknowledge her
sway.
This was precisely what might be expected on the reaction
which followed the war in Hungary, the fate of every govern-
ment that resorts to such expedients as this to preserve it
from ruin. It may serve so long as a people remain in a
state of semi-barbarism; but we feel confident, from all we
have seen and heard, that in the next insurrection which may
take place in Hungary, Magyar and Croat, Serb and Wallack,
will be found fighting side by side in the same cause, and
actuated by the same motive—the deliverance of their com-
mon country from the thraldom of a German ruler. We
may also add, that during the late war in Hungary, they
have seen enough of the way in which the Tzar rules over
his subjects, and suffered sufficiently from the barbarism
and rapacity of his Russo-Tatar soldiery, to convince them
that, should they be in want of a sovereign, they must not
go to the frozen banks of the Neva to seek him, although he
may be a Slavonian prince, Autocrat of all the Russias, and
style himself Pontiff of the Greek Church.
Perhaps the world never before witnessed an age in which
so many cross purposes and conflicting interests were vainly
sought to be reconciled as the present; as if we had entered
into a new state of existence, that was to have nothing in
common with the past. t
40 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
We have a practical illustration of this, in the sudden
change that has so recently taken place in the minds of the
inhabitants, not only of Hungary, but of all those vast coun-
tries of Eastern Europe peopled by the Slavonian race, so
long held in leading-strings by the Emperor of Russia—who,
after spending millions of money in moulding them as he
thought to his exclusive interests, finds himself, at the
moment he expected to realize his ambitious projects, in
the same position as the German philosopher that created
the demon, trembling before the work of his own hands.
This unexpected result has been produced by the circum-
stance that Panslavism has become divided into two hostile
camps, the one Russian and despotic in its tendencies, and
the other federal and democratic; in consequence of which,
the balance of power among this numerous and energetic
race, is now oscillating between despotism and civil and reli-
gious freedom; one of those singular and unexpected events
which sometimes occur in the political life of a people, and
baffle the calculations of the most astute and Sagacious
politicians.
In order to make our readers acquainted with this great
political movement of young Slavonia, we must slightly
glance at the political and social condition of that Section of
the Slavonian race, part of whom acknowledge Austria as
£heir ruler, and the remainder, Turkey. And although the
vision of some of our rulers and politicians does not usually
extend so far, yet of all the great families in Europe and
Asia there is none in the present day more deserving the
attention of the diplomatist and the statesman; because, let
it be remembered, this race is united by the same ties of
kindred, tradition, and, for the most part, religion,--a race,
thanks to the provident care of Russia, fully and politically
educated to fill up the void which the Turk and the Austrian
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 41.
will indubitably leave in those vast and fertile countries of
Eastern Europe. w
According to the accounts of the best informed German
and Russian historians, the various nationalities of the Slavo-
nian race may be computed, at a moderate calculation, to be
about a hundred millions, in different stages of civilization;
and to unite these under the sceptre of Russia has been her
traditionary policy—the unceasing effort of every Tzar, from
the time of the first Peter down to the present day. i
To describe the social life of a people who occupy such an
immense territory, extending from the Frozen Ocean to
Central Asia, and the subjects of various rulers, would be
a work of great difficulty even to the most industrious and
well-informed traveller. Still, however ignorant, however
divided from each other, or domiciliated among other nations,
the different tribes may be, they have clung with the most
extraordinary tenacity to their language, their traditions,
their customs, and their manners, –in short, to all their
national characteristics; so much so, that a Slavonian of
Turkey, China, or Austria, at once recognises his brother
Slavonian, although he may be a native of the far distant
regions of the north. Robust and vigorous, brave and enter-
prising, they form in the present day the best soldiers in the
armies of Austria, Turkey, and Prussia.
How impossible is it to fathom the ways of a merciful
Providence. The spirit of innovation on the barbarism of an
age that can never return, now so active among the inha-
bitants of the civilized West, has at length found an entrance
among the various nationalities of this race, subject to the
rule of Austria and Turkey; and this has been brought about
in a manner as novel as it was unexpected. Previous to the
French revolution of 1830, the agents of Russia, however
active they might have been in performing their Panslavistic
42 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
mission among the Slavonians subject to the rule of Austria
and Turkey, while pretending to seek for materials to com-
plete the history of the Slavonian race, made but little
progress, except among the inhabitants of towns and cities.
But at a later period, when the republicanism of France and
Germany threatened the subversion of monarchy, and the
Hungarians agitated for a more liberal system of govern-
ment, as a safety-valve from such imminent danger, recorm-
mended we presume by Russia, the Slavonians of Austria
were elevated all at once to great favour with the cabinet of
Vienna, a people who form more than one-half of the
numerical strength of the Austrian empire; and to show the
paternal care of the emperor for his chosen people, elemen-
tary schools and universities were everywhere established for
their education; to which was added a scientific press, also
fostered by imperial care.
Thus flattered and encouraged above every other nation-
ality in the Austrian empire, the Slavonians made rapid
strides in civilization; and were not only promoted to some
of the most important offices, both civil and military, but as
professors at their universities, became famous for their
learning, eloquence, and the deep research they displayed in
elucidating their own early history, which had been hitherto
little known or cared for. But as Austria never promotes
the enlightenment of her people unless she has some selfish
object of state policy in view, when all was prepared, a host
of these fiery zealots, animated with all the animosities and
jealousies of race, were despatched to all the Slavonian pro-
vinces of Hungary, where they might be heard preaching
Panslavism, and exciting the hatred of their brethren against
the rule of their old tyrants, the Magyars. -
This was the commencement of the . Slavonian crusade,
which ended so fatally for Hungary; and, however much we
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 43
may condemn the iniquitous policy of the cabinet of Vienna
in exciting the prejudices of race for her own purposes, still
we must rejoice in any measure that had for its object the
intellectual and moral improvement of so large a portion of
mankind. How flattering must it have been to a people,
So long the bondsmen of the Tatar and the Turk, the
German and the Magyar, to be told in their own language,
and in their own journals, that they were the descendants of
those illustrious Illyrians who won by their valour the glori-
ous epithet of Slavon (men of renown) from the great Mace-
donian chief—the conqueror of the world ! But all this was
necessary, and much more that is fabulous and fanciful in
their early history, to inspirit, to awaken a pride of race
among a people who had been long sunk in abject slavery,
before they could be encouraged to measure their swords
with the fiery valour of a Magyar.
When victory had declared for Austria, how she must
have exulted to see the proud Magyar at her feet,_to see
all his boasted rights and liberties trampled in the mire of
the battle-field! But how much greater was the triumph of
Russia, when she saw the Sword Wrested from the hand
of the only nationality in the Austrian empire that had the
courage and the will, to arrest her aggressive policy in the
East ! Yet how uncertain are all human calculations: the
events of to-day portend that consequences may arise out of
the fall of Hungary, and the moral progress of the Slavo-
nians, as fatal to the peace and Security of the house of
Romanoff as to that of Habsburg; and truly there are too
many ominous signs in the war between Russia and Turkey,
not to warrant the belief that Hungary and the whole of
these vast countries of Eastern Europe are on the eve of
Some mighty change, which must have a powerful influence
on the future destiny of the whole of Europe and Asia.
f
44 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Happily for the success of liberal institutions, and the pro-
gress of civilization, the fanaticism and hostile feeling between
creeds and races, which formerly exerted such a baleful in-
fluence over the benighted inhabitants of these countries, are
fast giving way wherever the people have become sufficiently
intelligent to comprehend that their only chance of eman-
cipation from the despotism of their foreign tyrants arises
from a union of interests. Acting upon this conviction, the
Magyars of Hungary, and the Roumani of Moldavia and
Wallachia, hitherto so antagonistic in race and language to
their fellow-countrymen, the Slavonians, have joined the
Illyrian Panslavists, and now form together a gigantic asso-
ciation, advocating a General Confederation (similar to that
of the United States of America) of all the tribes and races
subject to the rule of Austria and Turkey.
We have been assured, by parties perfectly well informed
upon these matters, that the ramifications of this brotherhood
extend through Poland, Gallicia, the Slavonian provinces sub-
ject to Prussia, and even among the Cossacks of the Don, the
Ukrain, and Bessarabia. And now, propelled as it is by the
fiery spirits of Hungary, Poland, Italy, and the agents of
the great European Democratic Propaganda, it must be ad-
mitted that we have here a most extraordinary combination,
heralding a conflagration, which only requires another Magyar
Hunyadi, or a Slavonian Tzerni George, to light up in a
blaze. That such a man will come at the hour appointed
by fate, and rally around him millions of brave and vigorous
Warriors, no man can doubt who is at all acquainted with
the political and social state of the inhabitants of those long-
neglected countries of Eastern Europe.
In other great and wealthy states of the more civilized West,
where so much property is at stake, and so many clashing
interests are bound up in the general welfare, the name of
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 45.
liberty, degraded as it has been by the theories of visionary
demagogues and political empirics, has partially fallen into
disrepute. Here, however, there are no great capitalists, no
millionaire manufacturers, no stock-jobbers—a class always
inimical to change, and opposing the mighty influence of
wealth to the efforts of the people for social amelioration;
but a brave, vigorous population, just arrived at that state
of civilization which produced a Cromwell in England, and
a Washington in America.
The gigantic military force of Russia and Austria, which
must now be regarded as one, may for a time coerce and
keep down the movement; but the system of patriarchal self-
government, so warmly cherished by the Slavonians,—and
the principles of civil and religious liberty, introduced into
the land of despotism by the Magyars, and which neither
the tyranny of an oppressive ruler, nor the intolerance of
a bigoted priest, have been able to destroy, would be cer-
tain, were there no other cause, to prevent these races from
Submitting for any lengthened period to an absolute form of
government, even though it should be the paternal one of
a Russian Tzar !
At the present moment how many dangers menace the
Safety of the Austrian empire, composed as it is of national-
ities which not only never can unite, but each of which sits
gloomily brooding over its wrongs. The tragic scenes enacted
in Poland and Hungary, in Gallicia and Krakau, in Lom-
bardy and Venice, call loudly for vengeance. Surely the
apologists of such a system of government cannot any longer
attribute the continued restlessness in every separate state
of that unhappy empire to the intrigues of a few Polish
malcontents and French propagandists; they must now know
that this uneasiness is the effect of that uncompromising
system of despotism—that intolerant, illiberal spirit, which
46 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
has guided the rule of every sovereign of the house of
Habsburg, from its advent to power down to the present
day. r
But to return to the Slavonians of Austria and Eastern
Europe. We cannot feel surprised that this unhappy race,
so long trodden to the dust by foreign tyrants, who had no
other title to rule than the sword, should now, exulting in
their great strength and union, plot and conspire with their
brethren in other lands, to commence a movement that
shall terminate in their independence; contingencies are
all in their fav ; the countries they inhabit are also well
adapted for a strong defensive position in the event of an
insurrection.
In the Austrian empire they occupy the whole of the
mountain coast from Fiume on the Adriatic to Trieste, with
Istria, and those provinces called the kingdom of Illyria, in
the neighbourhood of Venice; the whole of Carniola, and
the greater part of Styria and Carinthia. In addition to
these provinces, they occupy the whole of the kingdom of
Croatia, Military Croatia, Little Croatia, the kingdom of Sla-
vonia, the Woiavodina of Servia, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia,
Gallicia, part of Poland and Krakau. They are also in full
possession of all the passes and strong districts in the Karpa-
thian and Riesengebirge Mountains, together with those of
Transylvania and the highlands of Moldavia and Wallachia.
At the same time, this numerous people—the hardy shepherd
of the mountains, and the laborious agriculturist of the valley
and the plain—are merely separated from their brethren of
European Turkey by the Danube and its tributary, the Save;
where they occupy some of the strongest positions of that
country, such as Servia, Bosnia, Upper Moesia, the Balkan,
Montenegro, Herzegowina, Dalmatia, and nearly the whole of
the highlands in Macedonia and Thrace.
sº
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 47
Taken altogether, perhaps, there is no part of Europe of
the same extent that possesses so many natural means of
defence, and none better adapted to maintain a guerilla war-
fare; with this singular configuration, that while wandering
over this immense tract of country, we find it divided into
separate districts of extensive plains and valleys, as if formed
by nature to be the home of different tribes; but at the
same time each connected with its neighbour by some deep
gorge, as if inviting a general confederation. In addition
to which, if we grasp the whole of these vast provinces at
one view, we shall find them defended by an encircling chain
of rock, Sea, and river. What a glorious future is in reserve
for this people, when they have thrown off the yoke of the
German and the Turk, either by their own exertions or with
the assistance of Russia! and that they will succeed in doing
so, can scarcely be doubted. !
With a salubrious climate—than which there is none in our
hemisphere more healthy and favourable to the physical
development of man—they possess lands of almost virgin
fertility; command three seas, and several navigable rivers,
especially that noble artery of Central Europe, the Danube—
to enable them to carry on a commerce with the world.
Considered with reference to climate, position, fertility, and
the varied and valuable productions of the country, it is by
far the most eligible home of the Slavonian race, and worth
the whole of the Russian empire, with its barren steppes and
inhospitable frozen, regions. Can we then wonder at the
incessant intrigues of Russia, or at the millions she ex-
..pended through her Panslavistic agents to obtain possession
of this favoured land, and to call its emergetic, warlike in-
habitants, her subjects!—and how nearly she accomplished
her object. After reducing Turkey to the lowest state of
feebleness, she degraded Austria from the rank of an inde-
48 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
pendent power to a state of vassalage, on the fatal plains of
Hungary. -
Everything considered, whatever may be the issue of the
present war in Turkey, and however favourable its termina-
tion may be to that power, we must not delude ourselves
into the belief that the storm will be succeeded by a calm;
greater perils, we may be assured, will follow; and to provide
against them requires all the sagacity.and watchfulness of
a wary politician. Turkey, undoubtedly, has made a noble
stand in defence of her just rights; but the canker still
remains—her subjects are divided in religion and race; the
same evils, accompanied with the most glaring want of fore-
sight, have made Austria, to all intents and purposes, the
slave of Russia.
We regret that we cannot give a more favourable picture
of the political and social condition of these two empires,
Austria and Turkey, the crisis may be postponed for a few
years longer, but it must Surely come. It is true, Illyrian
Panslavism is everywhere silently opposing its great rival
and opponent, the Russo-Tatar propagandism; but it has to
contend with a wary enemy, who will take advantage of the
slightest incident that may favour his designs; and we all
know with what facility a people may be won over, to whom
any change would be a blessing that delivers them from the
rule of princes they have every cause to distrust and abhor.
Having travelled much in both these empires, and witnessed
the system of government established in each, we are in-
clined, if we had a choice, to give the preference to that of
the indolent Osmanli, whose code of laws is the Koran, rather
than to that of an Austrian Camarilla, with its army of
intolerant priests and Jesuits, and overbearing police, from
whose exactions and tyranny there is no appeal.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CERCASSIA. 49
CHAPTER IV.
Steam-boat voyage down the Danube, in 1850–View of Presburg–Coronation of
Ferdinand, King of Hungary—Deplorable effects of the late war—The Fortress
of Komorn—Wissegrad—Arrival at Pest—Reign of terror—Woman flogging—
Attempt of Austria to Germanize the Hungarians—Wałional pride of the Hun-
garians—Siege of Buda—Treachery of General Görgey—Enmily between Görgey
and Kossuth—Want of decision in Kossuth's Government—Fall of Hungary.
HAVING now, we trust, made the reader in some measure
acquainted with the political, moral, and social state of
Hungary, and the Slavonian provinces of Austria and Turkey
on the Lower Danube, we shall carry him with us on our
... tour to some of the most interesting countries in our hemi-
sphere, rendered doubly so at the present moment from
having become the theatre of a war which promises to effect
one of the most extraordinary revolutions, the world has
witnessed since the fall of the Roman empire. For how can
we regard the unexpected union of two mighty nations—the
most civilized and enterprising in the world—whether as
mediators in the quarrel, or as allies of Turkey, in any other.
light than as the instruments of a benevolent Providence, in
carrying out some great scheme for the civilization of so
large a portion of the human race? Without their inter-
ference, the barbarian hordes of Turkey and Russia might
have continued for centuries to destroy each other without
producing any other effect than aggravating national enmity
and prejudice; whereas now there will be introduced into
E}
50 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
the ranks of the combatants, the discipline, humanity, and
intelligence of civilized nations, and the seeds sown of a re-
generation in the habits, customs, morals, and manners of
millions who have for ages been living in a state of semi-
barbarism, the ultimate effects of which it would be vain to
speculate upon, further than that they must unquestionably
be of the most beneficial character, and may eventually pave
the way for the introduction of Christianity into the East,
in the same manner as the Roman legions, in the infancy
of the Christian faith, disseminated its knowledge in the
different dependencies of the Roman empire.
But to resume our tour. One of the most interesting
pictures presented to the traveller on entering Hungary, is
the fine old town of Presburg; presuming he has adopted
so agreeable a means of conveyance as a Danube steam-boat,
from the deck of which he sees the beautiful town, here
clustering around the base of the hill, there lining the banks
of the Danube to the water's edge, and again rising up in
a succession of terraces to the royal residence of the kings of
Hungary, proudly seated on the last peak of the Carpathian
mountains. -
Presburg is connected with many associations dear to the
heart of a Magyar. It was here the Diet held its sittings,
and here, in its spacious hall, that its Senators, untrammelled
by the influence of a despot, breathed the language of free-
dom, at a time when the rest of the inhabitants of Europe
lay bound in the chains of slavery. Even England cannot
date the complete attainment of free institutions from so
remote a period as Hungary. It was here also that the
kings of Hungary, after being elected on the plains of Rakos
by the suffrages of an independent people, were crowned with
the diadem of St. Stephen, the first king of the Magyars,
and robed in his purple mantle; and by a singular coinci-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 51
dence, the first and the last king of Hungary of the house
of Austria, was a Ferdinand. Will there be another?
We witnessed the coronation of the last king of Hungary,
the feeble-minded Ferdinand, emperor of Austria; saw him
assume the diadem and mantle of St. Stephen, and heard
him swear that he would maintain the constitution of Hun-
gary, her laws, liberty, and religion, and protect his subjects
from every foe, even to the death. However, to do this
monarch justice, sooner than break his oath by following
the counsel of the profligate cabinet of Vienna that then
ruled the destinies of Austria, he abdicated. It is needless
to say that by that act he released the people of Hungary
from the tie of allegiance to the house of Austria. They
were without a king; and, as we before observed, the crown
of Hungary is not hereditary, but elective. How then could
they be considered as rebels? or by what right did the
present emperor of Austria call in the aid of the Russians,
to help him to subdue a people who were guilty of no aggres-
sion on his territories, infringed no law of international right,
owed him no allegiance! These are grave questions, to be
answered by posterity.
Presburg happily escaped the worst horrors of the late
Hungarian war; but every step we made in advance through
the country revealed a dreadful scene of desolation, particu-
larly in the vicinity of the town of Raab, the island of Schütt
or Cyakollos, and the strong fortress of Komorn. There lay
the noble river and its beautiful banks glowing beneath the
glorious sun; but every town, village, and hamlet, from here to
the city of Pest, bore the marks of the fearful contest. The
strong walls of the fort and the castle had been levelled to
the earth, convents and churches unroofed, majestic spires
rent in twain; even the mighty oak, the growth of centuries,
was shattered and torn, as if the lightning from heaven
52 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
had descended to destroy it. The strong fortress of Komorn
alone seemed to have defied the power of man to compass its
overthrow; there it stood in the midst of a marsh, unscathed
and untouched, while everything around it lay crumbling
in ruins.
WISSEGRAD.
After passing the fine old town of Wissegrad, with its
ruined castle perched on the summit of a lofty rock, once
the royal residence of the good king of Hungary, St. Stephen,
our steamer at length cast anchor at Pest. Here we re-
mained a few days; but how changed was the town, how
gloomy the aspect, since we last saw it in 1847 . The beau-

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. bj$3
tiful Casino, then one of the finest buildings in the town—
where we had been accustomed to meet so many dear friends
now no more—with some of the finest palaces belonging to
the nobility, had been laid in ruins by an incessant shower
of balls from the towering fortress of Buda, a wanton
destruction of property on the part of General Henzi, the
German commander, as uncalled for as it was vindictive.
However melancholy might be the appearance of the city
of Pest, it was not that circumstance, so much as the deep
gloom expressed on the countenance of every individual we
met with whose interests were not involved in those of
Austria, that arrested our attention. There was the knitted
brow, the compressed lip, the sullen discontent lowering in
an eye that blazed with the fire of Asia; all indicating
a deep, but not the less vehement desire for an opportunity
to wreak their vengeance on the tyrants who were at that
moment, by a series of judicial murders, decimating their
countrymen throughout the whole of Hungary.
In vain Austrian soldiers with fixed bayonets, and troops
of cuirassiers with their Sabres unslung, paraded the streets.
In vain martial law was proclaimed, and hosts of police
agents and secret spies took note of every word uttered. The
people met as usual in the public places, and discussed
politics, apparently reckless of the consequence; commented
on the bravery of their own soldiers and the cowardice of the
Germans, with a fearlessness surprising even to an English-
man, accustomed as he is to unrestricted freedom of dis-
cussion in his own country.
Arrests, however, were constantly made of those who did
not exercise some degree of caution in expressing their
opinions, in the vain hope of striking terror into the mul-
titude. This was more especially the case with the fair sex,
who, unable to repress their indignant feelings, frequently
54 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
insulted the military, and often scoffed at, and even ridiculed,
majesty itself. For these offences, which under any other
government in civilized Europe but that of priest-ridden
déspotic Austria, would merely be punished by a reprimand,
here their merciless oppressors not only imprisoned them,
but by publicly whipping them left an eternal stigma on the
name of an Austrian Soldier.
This brutal method of governing, now for the first time in-
troduced into Hungary, was not confined to Pest or Buda;
we found it practised in every town through which we passed,
whether inhabited by Magyar, Slavonian, or Wallack.
Among the various and impolitic measures of the Austrian
camarilla that now ruled Hungary, none was more so than
the attempt to Germanize the people: they even went So
far as to wage a war of extermination against the national
colours, and every emblem that reminded the nation of its
lost independence; a measure as ridiculous as it was uncalled
for, and only calculated to increase the irritation of a people
among whom the excitement of war was subsiding into some-
thing like peace and social order. The consequences were, that
the mania for exhibiting the national colours in every article
of their dress, even to the furniture of their houses, which
was hitherto principally confined to the extreme democratic
party, now became general among all classes; so much so,
that it was highly dangerous for a stranger while travelling
in the country to speak a word of German, or to wear any
article of dress that might give rise to the suspicion of being
a partisan of Austria. -
We merely mention these things as indicative, among many
proofs that might be adduced, of the culpable policy of the
government, and also of the deep-seated bitter feeling with
which these people regard Austria; it also shows what she
may expect in the event of a repetition of the political con-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 55
vulsions of 1848. In truth, a greater insult cannot be offered
to a Magyar than to insinuate the possibility that Hungary
will be absorbed in the empire of a German prince. Even
those among the influential magnats of the land, who were
induced during the late war, out of hatred to the plebeian
Rossuth and his party, to adhere to the rule of Austria, not
anticipating that they had been thereby instrumental in aiding
the destruction of the liberties and independence of their
country, have now become the greatest enemies of Austria;
another instance, among many, of that power by her
Machiavelian policy converting a friend into an enemy.
Whilst conversing with the higher classes, particularly
those who had served as military officers during the Hun-
garian war of independence, we had ample opportunity of
witnessing the lengths to which a Magyar will go, when pride
of race and patriotism was the question: a noble trait in the
character of this people, and which while they retain, they
are not only unconquerable, but never can descend so low as
to remain the slaves of a foreign prince. This feeling was
most remarkably shown in the case of General Görgey, who
all the world knows was a traitor to his country. Yet the
bare assertion of this—at least, when made by a stranger—was
certain to be repudiated with scorn by the proud Magyar,
who would never admit that a man who was at once a noble-
man, a soldier, and a Magyar, could become a traitor to his
race, and to the land of his birth. As an aristocrat, it was
admitted, that he and his party, who were rather numerous
at that time in the armies and in the Senate, hated Kossuth
and his adherents; it was also contended that he was more of
a soldier than a politician, and in the surrender of his army
at Vilagos more sinned against than sinning, having been
overreached by the crafty policy of Russia, an enemy that
never negotiates but with the intention to betray.
56 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Be this as it may, General Görgey was the evil genius of
Hungary, and if we consider his disobedience to superior
orders, by stopping to besiege Buda, instead of pursuing the
flying Austrians to Vienna, he deserved, to say the least, to
lose the command of the army.
Every member of the Hungarian government at this time
was a patriot—men of the most unblemished character, of
undoubted truth and honesty. Louis Kossuth also, whom
the Senate invested with dictatorial power, deservedly en-
joyed the confidence of the army and the people. Surely,
they ought to have enforced obedience at any risk; and, by
neglecting to do so, showed to the nation that the executive
was too feeble for the emergency.
Buda, it is true, was taken-one of the most brilliant
exploits performed by Magyar valour during the war. Every
recollection encouraged the enthusiasm of the moment. Buda-
var, the centre, the heart of Hungary, with its royal castle, the
residence of so many heroic chieftains of their race—Attila,

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. bj7
Arpad, St. Stephen, and a hundred others—was again their
own. But, alas! every man of the slightest perception saw
that in One short week the country had lost all the advan.
tages it had so dearly purchased by six months of the most
brilliant victories on record. They saw that Görgey, by his
obstinacy in besieging Buda, when he ought to have pursued
the flying enemy to Vienna, had given Austria sufficient time
to assemble another army, and recommence the work of
destruction, while, to make matters worse, the Russian army
of intervention had crossed the frontiers in great force. The
die was cast; the favourable moment was gone for ever.
Suspicion naturally enough fell upon the motives which
actuated Görgey; dissensions in the army were the conse-
quence, where he was lauded by some as a hero, and declared
by others a traitor. This want of confidence in the ability
and energy of the government accelerated the catastrophe so
Soon destined to crush the Hungarian people.
Kossuth is much blamed by his countrymen for his want
of energy on this occasion. They say, he ought at once to
have repaired in person to Buda, and compelled the refractory
soldier to march on Vienna, and dictate his own terms to
a profligate court, that trembled at the approach of the
avengers of their country's wrongs. Görgey, favourite as he
was with the majority of the army, would not for a moment
have refused to obey the commands of the Governor of the
Commonwealth. For such was the eloquence of that extra-
ordinary man, Kossuth, and the spell which his mere appear-
ance exercised over all hearts, that both generals and soldiers
would have flown to the ends of the earth to obey him. In
short, it is said that the energy and persuasion of his words
were so irresistible, and his bearing and demeanour so im-
posing, that Görgey himself, daring and ambitious as he was,
would have sunk into a mere cypher in his presence.
58 TURKEY, RUSSIA, t
But it was not to be ſ. Disaster followed disaster after the
capture of Buda, which increased from the moment the traitor
secured to himself dictatorial power; then, uncontrolled in
his plans, he destroyed in a few weeks the bravest army that
ever took the field; and, with the Machiavelian cunning of
a demon, placed the unfortunate country it was his interest
and honour to defend to the death, beneath the iron heel of
an oppressor that knew no mercy, stamped for ever the name
of Görgey with the brand of a traitor, left himself alone in
the world, a living Cain to be shunned by all mankind—
a thing below contempt. -
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 59
CHAPTER V.
Departure from Pest—Effects of the late war—Total destruction of Neusatz—The
Ban of Croatia–His army—Their cruelties—General Mayerhoffer and his
Tobber bands—Austrian vengeance—Military cordon—some account of it—
Carlowitz–Historical sketch of the Servian nationality—Their warlike habits—
Characteristics of the Servians—Their republican tendencies—Turkish garrisons
in Servia—Importance of the fidelity of the Servians to the Sultan—Concluding
femarks.
AFTER leaving Pest and Buda with its fine chain of encircling
hills behind us, the banks of the Danube presented the
monotonous picture of an immense plain, extending on either
side as far as the eye could reach. Throughout the whole of
this vast expanse, there was not the slightest appearance of
cultivation; scarcely a herd of cattle met the view; and the
few peasants who still clung to the ruins of their Once happy
villages, bore about them all the marks of the direst poverty
and destitution.
What a terrible picture of the devastation of war ! What
a memento of the passions of an ignorant, fanatic Soldiery,
s when excited by the prejudices of race, and all the bitter
animosities they give rise to 1
To those travellers who, like ourselves, passed over the
same ground so late as 1847, and admired the industry of the
inhabitants, their well-cultivated fields, the great beauty and
number of their flocks and herds, which here were to be seen
wandering over the richest grazing grounds in Hungary, the
sight was peculiarly distressing. But this was nothing to
60 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
what we were doomed to witness on arriving at Peterwardein,
where we found a large town as completely swept away as if
it had been destroyed by fire rained down from heaven.
This was the unhappy Neusatz, which previous to the late
war contained 15,000 inhabitants.
PETERWARDEIN.
Neusatz had the double misfortune of lying directly under
the guns of the fortress of Peterwardein, and of being selected
as a position by the Ban of Croatia, when that predatory par-
tisan of Austria came to the resolution of storming one of the
strongest fortresses in Europe. No doubt, it suited his views:
the hordes of vagabonds from all the neighbouring states
attracted to his standard by the hope of plunder, required
some prospect that this hope would be realized; and the rich
and prosperous Neusatz offered all that could be desired.
Besides, the inhabitants, who were known to be enthusiastic
admirers of the Magyars, and deeply sympathized with the
cause of liberty, in the estimation of this champion of despo-
tism deserved to suffer.

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 3. 61
As might be expected, the cannon of the fortress told fear-
fully on the unlucky town; and what they left undone was
soon completed by the incendiary brand of a lawless soldiery,
whose real object was rapine. This was the manner in which
the paternal sovereign of Austria, as king of Hungary, or
rather the Austrian camarilla that ruled in his name, waged
a war of extermination against a people who by their bravery
and devotedness had so often and so signally Saved the
Austrian empire from total destruction; and, to add to the
infamy of the act, the great bulk of the Hungarian army
at that time were absent from their own country, en-
gaged in a war of life and death, in putting down the revolt
of the Italian subjects of Austria in Italy. Moreover,
at this early stage of the dispute the Hungarians had not
resorted to arms in defence of the rights and liberties of their
country. -
The destruction of Neusatz by the robber bands of the
Ban of Croatia was not a solitary instance; several populous
cities, such as Nagy-Enyed, Zalathna, Thordan, shared a
similar fate. “Language,” says the Hungarian hero, General
Klapka, in his “Memoirs of the War of Independence in
Hungary,” “cannot tell, nor pen describe, the horror that
followed, when Wallacks and Saxons, Croatians, Servians, and
Gypsies, with hordes of bandits from every part of European
Turkey and the neighbouring states, commanded by Austrian
officers in disguise, and furnished with money, weapons, and
ammunition from Austrian stores, burst like a torrent upon
the devoted land.” “Such was the love of wanton destruc-
tion of these barbarian hordes,” says the same writer, “now
animated with all the prejudices of race, and intent upon.
plunder, that the sky for months was crimsoned with the
flames that burst, from the towns and villages inhabited by
the Magyars throughout the entire kingdom.”
62 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
But this did not satisfy the ruthless spirit of Austrian
vengeance; for when the Magyars put forth the whole
strength of the ancient valour of their race, and succeeded
in clearing alike robber horde and Austrian soldier from the
entire land, the Russo-Tatar Tzar was invited to accomplish
what the whole force of the Austrian empire and its ferocious
allies had been unable to effect. Even then, at the eleventh
hour, if Hungary had possessed a hero who to the tact and
eloquence of Kossuth added military talent, she might have
conquered all her enemies.
Before we conclude our sketch of the Hungarian war, we
must not omit to mention, that of all the robber hordes
invited by the Austrian Government to the plunder of the
Magyars, the bands enlisted and organised by Mayerhoffer,
the Austrian Consul at Belgrade, were preeminently distin-
guished for violence and wanton outrage. These men, for the
most part rayah peasants of the Slavonian provinces of
Turkey, brutalized by ignorance and superstition, readily
believed all that their priests and the Austrian agents told
them, to the effect that the Magyars were murdering all their
brethren of the same race and creed on the other side of the
Danube. Multitudes crossed the river, in spite of the endea-
vours of the Turkish Government and the Hospodar of Servia
to prevent them. The outrages of those mad enthusiasts,
headed by priests equally ignorant as themselves, almost
surpass belief. Blinded by fanaticism, and believing that
they were only performing an act of retributive justice on
the murderers of their brethren of the same faith, they burnt
on their route every village and hamlet in which they found
a church bearing the Latin cross, and massacred such of the
inhabitants as could not make the sign of the Greek cross
in the manner prescribed by the Greek Church. These poor
fanatics, amounting, it is said, to several thousands, the vic-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 63
tims of Austrian perfidy, were nearly all destroyed, Magyar,
Croat, Serb, and Wallack, all uniting in their own defence
to rid the country of such fearful visitors.
We give this statement, not as the mere echo of public
report, but on the testimony of our own Consul at Belgrade,
Mr. Fontblanque, and confirmed by Turkish and Servian
authorities. -
After leaving Peterwardein, we entered the ancient king-
dom of Slavonia, one of the most interesting districts in
Hungary. We observed scarcely any appearance in the aspect
of the country of its having suffered during the Hungarian
war. This may be easily explained from the circumstance
that we were now in the centre of the military cordon, where
every man from fifteen years of age is trained to the use of
arms, which enables him, when called upon, to defend his
home and hearth.
This famous military cordon was established many years
ago by the Austrian and Hungarian Governments, for the
purpose of protecting this part of their empire from the pre-
datory incursions of the Turks, and also, by means of a chain
of quarantine establishments, to prevent the entrance of the
plague. It extends from the Bocca de Cattaro, in Dalmatia,
on the Adriatic, to the frontiers of Russia and Poland. These
military colonists, composed of members of nearly every
nationality in the Austrian empire, have had lands allotted
to them, and certain rights and liberties, for which they have
to perform such military duties as may be necessary for the
defence of the frontier committed to their charge.
The entire population number about a million and a half,
forming eighteen regiments of infantry, one of hussars, and a
battalion of marines; but in a case of urgent necessity; they
can muster from forty to fifty thousand well-disciplined men.
Each regiment possesses the privilege of electing its colonel,
64 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
who is also, by virtue of his rank, magistrate of the military
district to which he belongs.
Every two regiments are commanded by a brigadier-
general, and every two brigades by a general commando, who
acts under the immediate orders of the Minister of War at
Vienna.
=. º 21 º
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.
- |
Sºlº
|º 1.
- sº N
|
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w
GUARD-HOUSE ON THE AUSTRIAN FRONTIER.
A range of neat guard-houses has been constructed along
the whole line, each sufficiently capacious to accommodate, if
necessary, twelve men. Behind the chain are the dwellings
of the officers, furnished with alarm-bells, by means of which,
in case of invasion, the colonists of the entire population may
be assembled at their respective quarters under arms, and
ready for marching, in less than four hours.
No stranger is allowed to cross the line without a permit
from the military commander of the nearest station; and in

















THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 65
time of war, or during the prevalence of an epidemic, he is
liable to be shot if he attempts it. We cannot think it
possible to devise a more effectual defence for a frontier than
this, or one better adapted to resist the inroads of such
Savages as we have for neighbours at the Cape. The cost to
the government would be trifling, since each man being
trained to arms from his infancy, and at the same time a
proprietor of land, is doubly interested in repelling the
invader.
Carlowitz, one of the military towns included in the
cordon, inhabited by a tribe of the Servian race, was the
next station we arrived at. Situated at the base of a group
of vine-clad hills, it was a pretty picture in the scenery of
this part of the Danube. The wine produced here is some of
the best in Hungary; and the absynthe, which is made here
in large quantities, is well known to the gourmand for the
qualities it possesses of creating an appetite.
Carlowitz, above every other town in the Servian Voiavo-
dina, acquired notoriety during the Hungarian war of inde-,
pendence, being one of the principal positions of the Servian
rebels when they broke out into insurrection against the
Magyars; the consequence was, that the whole of that im-
mense district lying between the Danube and the Theiss,
inhabited for the most part by Magyars and German
colonists, was converted into a howling waste. At a later
period, the Hungarian generals, Kiss, Wetter, and Perezell,
exacted a terrible retribution on the authors of this wholesale
destruction; the rebels were nearly all cut to pieces, and
their own country given up, to be ravaged with fire and
sword by an enraged soldiery.
We had here another opportunity of witnessing the havoc
made by this cruel war, in the ruins of the number of
blackened villages and hamleſs that everywhere met the view,
F
66 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
and which continued with little interruption to Semlin.
When it was too late, the Servians, as well as their neigh-
bours the Croats, saw how treacherously they had been made
the instruments of a government, whose only object in ex-
citing race against race, was to break down the strength of
the Magyars, that it might rule uncontrolled over the rights
and liberties of a free people; but it has left memories
rankling in the heart of these people, which will one day
exact a terrible retribution.
The only place worth mentioning between Carlowitz and
Semlin, is Slankaman, the Ritium of the Romans; here the
Theiss, one of the most important rivers in Hungary, after
traversing the whole of that country and Transylvania, forms
a junction with the Danube. The banks of this river are,
with few exceptions, considered unhealthy, partly owing to the
sluggish pace at which the stream travels, and partly to the
inundations, which on retiring leave extensive marshes, but
however injurious to the health of man, the miasma does
not appear to have the same effect on that mud-loving
animal, the buffalo, which here comes to great perfection.
On leaving the Theiss we steered our course between nume-
rous small islands to Semlin, opposite Belgrade, where the
Save and the Danube uniting, form the boundary between
Turkey, and the Slavonian provinces of Hungary.
Now that important changes may be anticipated in those
Vast countries situated on the Lower Danube, in consequence
of the war between Turkey and Russia, perhaps it may in-
terest the reader if we give him some account of the origin
and history of the Servian nationality, the most brave and
enterprising of all the Slavonian races. We already see that
the belligerents attach the utmost importance to the free
principality of Servia, each inclining to the opinion that the
side on which this warlike people shall array themselves, will
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 67
ultimately triumph. Knowing something of their tempera-
ment and opinions, we can venture to assert, that should the
war continue, the Servians will not remain inactive spectators
of the quarrel; at the same time, we do not believe that so
prudent and far-seeing a people will commit themselves to
either power without the prospect of Securing some addition
to their present territory, and their own independence. They
already have had sufficient reason to distrust the sincerity of
Russia; and they may learn now from Moldavia and Walla-
chia, the sort of government that power imposes on every
people obliged to submit to her rule.
It would appear from the traditions of this bellicose race,
the Servians, that they are descended from the ancient Illy-
rians, and various tribes of Scythians that ruled over these
vast provinces, now called European Turkey, previous to the
arrival of Cadmus in Greece. Their piesmas and national
Songs also seem to indicate that they were in some way con-
nected with the Macedonian monarchy, and furnished soldiers
to Alexander the Great during his wars in Asia.
From the fall of the Macedonian empire, we have no re-
cords of Servia as a nationality till about the fourth century,
when the Byzantine chroniclers tell us of a race of freebooters,
called the Razi, that made themselves the terror of Greece,
and the whole of the surrounding nations; and who inhabited
the inaccessible mountain districts of Upper Moesia, and
those countries lying on the Adriatic, where they exercised
the trade of pirates.
At length they were civilized and converted to Christianity,
by the Byzantine Greeks, to whom they remained in some
measure tributary till the decline of that empire, when they
formed separate republics, which in process of time became
a monarchy under one chieftain. They now assumed the
name of Serb or Servian, and their power continued to in-
68 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
crease under a succession of enterprising warlike krals,
(kings), till the accession of the most warlike of all their
rulers, the famous Kral Stephan Douschan, who after subdu-
ing province after province, at the expense of his effeminate
neighbours the Byzantine Greeks, assumed the title of Em-
peror of Servia, King of the Greeks, the Bulgarians, the
Albanians, and Autocrat over various provinces lying on the
Adriatic. That this people attained a high degree of civili-
zation previous to the arrival of the Turks in Europe, we
have sufficient evidence in the number of beautiful churches
now converted into mosques, as well as the numerous ruins
of splendid castles, cities, and towns, which we find in these
countries that once constituted the Servian monarchy.
Sultan Amurath, the warlike son of Othman, was the con-
queror of the Servians. After a succession of Sanguinary
conflicts, the last great battle was fought on the plain of
Cassova, in Upper Moesia, on the fifteenth of June, 1389.
The Kral Lazar was killed, and with him terminated all hope
of the Servians to arrest the arms of the Mahometan invaders.
Servia, however, might have continued to exist as a tribu-
tary state had it not been for the misplaced patriotism of one
of her greatest chieftains, Milosh Obilitseh, who being admitted
into the tent of the hero, under pretence of arranging an
exchange of prisoners, took advantage of an unguarded
moment to plunge his dagger into the bosom of the Sultan.
Still, if the Servian monarchy was destroyed by Sultan
Amurath, the people were never totally conquered ; they
merely resigned the plains to the Turks, and retreated to the
mountains, where in Montenegro, and other inaccessible dis-
tricts of the country, under the name of Haiducks and Ous-
koks, they continue to this day to harass the Turks by their
predatory excursions whenever an opportunity offers.
This inextinguishable hate, this ardent desire of the Ser-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 69
vians to regain their lost independence, is now as fresh in the
minds of this people, as it was in that of their ancestors after
the fatal battle of Cassova. In after days, wherever there
was a battle to be fought against the Turks, whether in
Albania, under the Christian hero Scanderbeg, in the Vene-
tian States, or in Hungary, a band of Servian volunteers was
certain to be found arrayed in battle against the conquerors
of their country.
That they have not degenerated in our day from the valour
of their warlike ancestors, or forgot that they were once a
free people, we have sufficient evidence in the number of
battles fought and won by this people, under the well-known
TZerni George, against their hereditary enemies, the Turks,
during a twenty years' war. This struggle of a people to
emancipate themselves from the oppressive rule of a foreign
prince, is perhaps unequalled for bravery and constancy of
purpose in the history of any nation, especially when we
remember that it was a very small section of this race that
made the attempt, not much over half a million, and that the
combatants, composed of a mere handful of swineherds,
shepherds, and haidues, had to contend against the 'whole
force of a mighty empire. :
Whether to escape from oppression, or the degradation of
being ruled by a Mahometan Sovereign, multitudes of this race
emigrated from the home of their fathers, and settled at a
very early epoch after the conquest of Servia, in Hungary,
where they had lands allotted them, and the same rights and
privileges granted them as the Magyars. They inhabit the
whole of that part of the country through which we had been
travelling from Carlowitz to Semlin, besides a great part of
Slavonia on the Save, together with a portion of Croatia, Istria,
and Syrmia, and number with their brethren in European
Turkey about 6,000,000. With the exception of between
70 TURKEY, RUSSIA, -
600,000 and 700,000 Mahometans, principally confined to
the province of Bosnia, and 300,000 that conform to the Roman
Catholic creed, they are all members of the Greek Church.
Like every people but imperfectly educated, and brutalized
by the long sectarian wars they have been accustomed to
wage against the Turks, the Servians are exceedingly fanatic,
and very easily persuaded into becoming an instrument either
of good or evil in the hands of a clever demagogue, or an in-
triguing priest. Of this we have had a lamentable example
in the atrocities they committed in 1848-49 on their un-
offending neighbours, the Magyars. Still we must not con-
found the Servians of the Woiavodina of Hungary with the
20,000 or 30,000 ruthless bandits and assassins that followed
the standard of the Austrian consul, Mayerhoffer.
Up to this time the Servians of the Woiavodina were the
warmest advocates for liberal institutions; far more repub-
lican in their tendencies than the Magyars: no members of
the Senate of Hungary were more opposed to the arbitrary
measures of the Austrian government, and none more stre-
nuous supporters of reform and of whatever was calculated
to improve the condition of the people. When the articles
of the new constitution of Hungary, in 1848, were promul-
gated, Securing the same rights and privileges to the peasant
as to the nobleman,—union and liberty! liberty and union
was then the cry throughout the entire land. Büt, alas !
this prospect of a happy union between these rival races was
entirely destroyed from the moment the cry went forth from
the Sacra Consulta of the Servian Archbishop Rajachich, the
pensioner of Russia, that the Greek Church was in danger!
that the Magyars were in full march to overthrow the reli-
gion and nationality of their Servian subjects. From that
moment there was no reasoning with the ignorant masses,
the demon was let loose that sealed the fate of Hungary.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 71.
Happily for the world, there is an innate love of truth and
justice in man, however darkened his intellect may be, which
is certain eventually to correct whatever false impressions
may be given him. Of this we were now a witness in the
friendly feeling that had everywhere sprung up in favour of
the Magyars, whose good intentions were now appreciated as
they deserved; while, on the other hand, the Archbishop
Rajachich, and his camarilla of lying demagogues and
suborned priests, were everywhere held up to contempt and
Scorn; and these sentiments were not confined to the edu-
cated, but generally diffused among all classes.
We found the same feeling existing among their brethren
on the other side of the Danube, in the principality of Servia,
where, living under a government of their own that allows
free discussion, they are every day becoming more civilized
and tolerant in matters of religion. This they owe in a great
measure to the number of well-educated political refugees of
their own race from every part of the Austrian empire, that
found a refuge among them, whose ideas being propagated,
and intelligence diffused, cannot fail of producing a most
Salutary influence on the rising generation. - º
Notwithstanding this defect in the national character of
the Servians,—the result of being so long the priest-ridden
slaves of a Church like the Greek, at once fanatical and ex-
clusive, and which must disappear as the people become
more intimately acquainted with the civilization of the West,
—they possess many eminent virtues; and that they contain
the elements from which may one day be combined a mighty
nation, no traveller can deny who has studied, without par-
tiality or prejudice, the character of the people.
As an example of how easily this people are trained into
the habits of a civilized community, the traveller in Servia
may journey from frontier to frontier without meeting with
72 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
the slightest molestation; and if he should solicit their
hospitality, he may depend upon meeting in the poorest hut
with a kind reception; and however primitive may be their
habits, however defective their knowledge of the great Euro-
pean world, they can appreciate and practise those important
Social virtues—truth and honesty. He will also find schools
established in the towns and villages, lyceums and gymna-
siums in the capital, provided with talented and well quali-
fied professors.
This is the more praiseworthy when we reflect that their
long and fearful struggle for independence has only recently
terminated; to which we may add the ordeal through which
this people had to pass during the reign of the brutal Milosch,
whose expulsion from the country must have created dis-
union and separate interests—those great obstacles to the
advancement and prosperity of a country.
There is also about this people a degree of natural good
sense, which serves as an effective substitute for political
experience; this, we trust, will not desert them on the pre-
sent trying occasion, embarrassed as they must be with the
allegiance they owe to the Porte as a tributary, and the tie
of a common religion, which in some measure binds them to
Russia. The fact of the present Prince of Servia being in-
debted to the Sultan for his throne, who determined to
support the choice of the people, in opposition to the nominee
of Austria and Russia, Prince Milosch, and the threat of war,
—may not be without its influence.
But there are other contingencies to be foreseen ; and
among these, if the war continues, the impossibility of re-
straining so warlike a people as the Servians from taking
a part in the contest; or, perhaps, if they saw the means, of
striking a blow on their own account. A people having once
emancipated themselves, by a succession of the most brilliant
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 73
victories, do not readily give up the hope of recovering the
entire land of their forefathers from the grasp of a foreign
prince. That this feeling exists we had ample opportunities
of witnessing; for whether we conversed with the Swineherd,
the priest, or the soldier, they all concurred that a Servian
must not sheath his sword till the Servian empire included
the whole of the territory ruled over by their greatest king,
Stephan Douschan.
It is true, the Turks, by having garrisons in all the forti-
fied towns and strong places, hold military possession of
Servia; and we might conclude they could have nothing to
fear from the hostility of a people scarcely numbering
1,000,000; but then we must remember that, being situated
in the midst of a population unfriendly to their cause, in the
event of any general rising, their supplies would be cut off,
when their garrisons must of necessity surrender, or die of
starvation. Besides, in a country where every able-bodied
man, from the age of eighteen to fifty, is trained to arms,
they can bring into the field an army of 60,000 men ready
equipped for battle, and in case of necessity at least 100,000;
we must therefore admit, if we take into account the well-
known bravery of the people, and the natural strength of the
country, that the Servians would prove a most formidable
enemy; and that any rising among them, whether to serve
their own interests, or in favour of Russia, would be attended
with the most disastrous consequences to Turkey.
Russia knows this; and we may be assured that every
expedient intrigue can suggest, even to promises of increased
territory and complete independence, will be resorted to, in
order to gain over to her interests this warlike nationality.
Then, as protectors of the new commonwealth, how easy
would it be, first to excite dissensions; and then, by inter-
posing with an armed intervention, we should see a repetition
74. TURKEY, RUSSIA,
of the game so successfully played in Poland, Krim-Tatary,
Georgia, and so many other states,—annexation to her already
overgrown empire. -
Up to the present time, the tributary Servians of the .
principality of Servia have refused to make common cause
with the Turkish government against the aggressions of
Russia, under the flimsy plea of an identity of race and
creed. What then is to prevent a victorious Russian army,
should they succeed in taking possession of Kalafat and
Lesser Wallachia, from entering Turkey at Kladova, or an
Austrian force at Belgrade, should the force of circumstances
render it necessary that the latter power should violate her
neutrality, and make common cause with her ally"—and we
cannot see how it is possible she can maintain it, paralysed
as she is by Russian influence. }
To facilitate such an invasion, there are capital roads, lead-
ing through the principality of Servia, well adapted for the
march of an army with all the materials of war, to Nissa,
and from thence on one side to Sophia, across the Balkan by
the pass of Irajai; and on the other, by the route Sigenitza,
to Novi-Bazar, two military positions of the first conse-
quence to an invading army, as they command the whole of
the passes in this direction leading to Constantinople ; and
being inhabited by Christian tribes of the same warlike race
as the Servians, the bitterest enemies of the Moslem and his
creed, would be certain to hail with enthusiasm any invader
who would guarantee to them a speedy emancipation from
Turkish rule. §
The occupation of Novi-Bazar by an enemy, with its
mountain plateaus and strong defiles—one of the most im-
portant military positions in European Turkey—would be
attended with the most disastrous consequences to the Porte.
Besides completing the connecting link of the chain that
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 75
unites the Servians on the Danube with their free brethren
in Montenegro, it severs Bosnia and Herzegowina, with part
of Upper Albania, from any communication whatever with
the other provinces of European Turkey belonging to the
Sultan; while at the same time it offers every facility to an
enemy of descending on Macedonia and Thessaly, and calling
the Greek nationality located there to arms.
TZerni George, the hero of Servia, appeared to be fully
aware of the military importance of this stronghold of the
Krals of Servia, when, in 1809, he took Nissa, and having
called to arms the rayahs, laid siege to Novi-Bazar, and must
have taken it had he not been diverted from his purpose by
an invasion of the principality of Servia by the Turks. Sin-
gular to say, when we visited this town in 1851, the breaches
in the walls had not been repaired
Taken altogether, and we speak from a perfect know-
ledge of the country and the feeling of the inhabitants, we
cannot divest our minds of the impression that the rule of
the Turks in Europe is drawing to a close; for we do not
see how they can maintain themselves, surrounded as they
are by enemies at home and abroad seeking their total over-
throw. Still it is some consolation to think that in the
Servian nationality we have all the elements necessary, if
properly managed by the allied powers, for forming a barrier
against any future aggression of Russia in this part of
Europe. A people whose tendencies are all republican, who
admit of no aristocracy, no hereditary titles, and with whom
all men are equal, would not be likely voluntarily to become
the serfs of Russia.
This attachment to self-government prevails more or less
with every other nationality in European Turkey who derive
their origin even in a remote degree from the Illyrian race,—
the Bulgarians, the Albanians, and the Roumanie of Moldavia
76 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
and Wallachia; all of whom might be formed into a strong
confederative government like that of Switzerland, composed
of several independent communities. But as we have alluded
to this subject more at length in our late work on European
Turkey, we shall for the present leave the Servians to their
fate, and continue our route.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 77
CHAPTER WI.
Belgrade–Servian peasantry–Semendria—Scenery on the Danube—The Iron Gate
—Its peculiar features—Dangerous navigation—Whirlpools—Loss of a steam-
boat–Widdin and its fortifications—The importance of Kalafat—First view of
the Balkan—Town and fortress of Nicopolis–Sestova–Rutschuck and its forti-
fications—The fortress of Turtukai and Olteniţza—Importance of Silistria as a
fortified position—Town and fortress of Rassova–Tehermawoda—Projected
canal to the Black Sea—Opposition of Russia to its construction—Disgraceful
condition of the navigation of the Danube—Fortress of Hirsova–Matschin—
Jsakichi—Toultcha—Delta of the Danube—Observations upon the war between
Turkey and Russia.
BELGRADE, with its picturesque old castle, its domes and
minarets, first announces to the traveller on the Lower
Danube that he has entered the territory of the unchanged
and unchanging Land of the Crescent. The citadel, erected
on a boid promontory between the junction of the Save and
the Danube, is, in a military point of view, most formidable;
and, if kept in good repair, and garrisoned with a sufficient
force, might, aided by the fortifications on the low ground at
the junction of the two rivers, which command, every ap-
proach by land or water, defy the utmost efforts of an enemy
to take it. &
In addition to this, the Turks are in possession of six other
fortresses in Servia, Semendria, Sehabats, Sokoll, Adakall, Usc-
hitza, and Febzlau, giving them in reality military possession
of the principality. But, to render every justice to the
Ottoman Porte, the Servians are left in full enjoyment of their
liberties, and as uncontrolled in the administration of the
country, as if thoso forts did not exist.
78 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
On leaving Belgrade, the scenery on the Servian side of the
Danube continued to improve in picturesque beauty: we had
alternately forests, corn-fields, pastures, and vineyards; while
the Austro-Hungarian side presented a vast plain, with no-
thing to relieve the monotony except a continued range of
guardhouses belonging to the military cordon, to which we
before alluded. -
SERVLAN PEASANTS.
The half military dress of the Servians, their drab-coloured
jacket with red facings, cap and sash of the same gay colour,

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 79
the latter stuck full of pistols and poniards, gave them an
animated appearance, and at the same time proclaimed their
Warlike tastes and tendencies. The costume even of the
Women was somewhat Amazonian, the jaunty braided jacket,
and red cap, with a large blue silk tassel waving in the wind.
The population on the Austrian side of the river offered a
strong contrast, in the arrangement of their toilet, to the
Servians. The dress of the men consisted of a simple tunic,
made of coarse linen, and ample shalwars of the same ma-
terial. Pieces of untanned hide, strapped on the feet with
leather thongs, formed the substitute for shoes; and a cap of
curled wool, somewhat resembling a mop without a handle,
did duty as a cap. The attire of the women was bizarre
enough, as, attached to the short woollen petticoat of many
folds, was a broad plaited fringe of variegated colours, which,
when the fair creature stepped, or the wind blew, rattled
about a pair of stout supporters that would have done credit
to a drayman.
They appeared to perform the whole of the agricultural
labour, in addition to the care necessarily required for their
children and household affairs; but, if their lords are lazy,
they do not, as in countries nearer home, repay their exer-
tions with ill-usage, as no man, especially if he is of the
Slavonian race, of these provinces, even dreams of inflicting a
blow upon a woman.
The next object that arrested our attention was the town
and castle of Semendria, situated on the Turco-Servian side.
The castle, a singular-looking building, of a triangular form,
with numerous small towers, joined together by a curtain of
apparently solid masonry, does not come within what may be
called a regular fortification of the present day. Still, we
have no doubt that the Turkish garrison which holds posses-
Sion would make an obstinate defence, so long as they had
80 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
any of the wall remaining between them and the enemy. We
passed a succession of these little forts, more or less dilapi-
dated, before we arrived at Orsova; and, although they
present no serious means of defence, they are just sufficiently
strong to annoy an enemy that might attempt to cross the
Stream.
There was now an entire change in the aspect of the noble
river, that had been our companion throughout the entire
length of the land of the Magyar and the Slavon. Hitherto
its width had varied from about one to three English miles,
studded with innumerable islands, of various sizes, and pos-
Sessing a depth of water sufficient to float a man-of-war; but
we had arrived at the frowning portals of the renowned
Demirkapi (“Iron Gate”). At this point the lofty chain of
the frowning Krapak approaches, as it were in defiance of its
equally gigantic neighbour, the dark and cloudy Balkan,
driving the boiling waters of the impetuous stream before it
against the granite sides of its mountain rival, whence they
recoil with still greater fury, and, finding no other outlet, roll
their Seething volumes with an angry roar through the
narrow pass; now swelling like the waves of a broken sea,
now struggling in a fearful whirlpool, and anon scattering
their wrathful spray in showers over the dark unyielding
rocks that bar their headlong course. At the same time, the
wild character of the scenery, the crumbling ruins pinnacled
On the summits, the lonely eagles hovering over the strug-
gling waters, or seated on the beetling crags, combine to form
a picture of singular grandeur and sublimity.
It is not so much the violence with which the noble river
rushes through its contracted channel that renders the navi-
gation so dangerous, as the number of whirlpools formed by.
the meeting of opposing currents. In these no vessel could
possibly live; for if once involved in their unceasing gyra-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 81
tions, it must inevitably be drawn towards their centre, and
Swallowed in the unfathomed gulf that yawns below.
Here we left the steamer, and continued our route by a
road cut in the rocks to Kladova; for, notwithstanding the
Directors of the Steam Navigation Company have caused
Some of the most dangerous rocks to be blasted, the passage
is still considered too hazardous for a steamer to attempt,
particularly when the water is low; the vessel is therefore
lightened of its heavy baggage and passengers, and then
drawn by horses along the bank, through the channel which
offers the fewest dangers.
Several of the passengers here gave us an account of the
loss of a steamer some years ago, which never became gene-
rally known. The vessel, it appears, struck against a rock,
and became unmanageable, when, being gaught in a whirl-
pool, it was instantly submerged, and was never again seen.
Crew, passengers, all, met a watery grave. Probably it was
not the interest of the directors and shareholders that the
details of the catastrophe should be made public.
At Kladova, we rejoined our steamer; and now, having
passed all the perils of the Danube, we glided smoothly
onward between the rocky steeps which here form the boun-
dary between Servia and Lesser Wallachia. Kladova is
merely one of those small Turko-Servian towns we find near
the river, surrounded by an earthen rampart, deep ditch, and
oak palisade, Sufficiently strong to resist a tumultuous mob
armed with no better weapons than gun or pistol. We found,
however, the fortress of New Orsova, situated on an island,
a very strong position, and kept in good repair. It is the
residence of a pacha, who commands the garrison, consisting
of several hundred men. .**
The Danube here makes a most extensive curve, bringing
us back nearly to the spot whence we started, opposite the
G
82 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
island of New Orsova. At Burzo-Palanka, a small fortified
town, the river Timok, which rises in the Balkan, after
forming the boundary between the tributary principality of
Servia and Bulgaria, joins the Danube, which, having reco-
vered from its struggle at the Iron Gate, now rolls majestically
onward through the centre of a vast plain, here and there
interspersed with tiny islets, covered to the water's edge with
brushwood apparently impenetrable, the haunt of winged
game of every description.
WIDDIN.
We now reached Widdin, one of the most important forti-
fied towns belonging to Turkey on the Lower Danube. The
population is upwards of 25,000, and the garrison in time of
peace 5,000 men. The fortifications appeared to be remark-
ably strong, and in good fighting order, showing a formidable
front along the banks of the river, protected at intervals by

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 83.
a strong bastion, and also by a fortified castle, and two
redoubts in the islands, besides an extensive marsh, which
adds considerably to its other defences.
In a stratagetical point of view, Widdin has been very
much strengthened since the Turks have succeeded in esta-
blishing themselves at Kalafat on the opposite bank of the
river; a most important acquisition, because it not only
severs the Russians from holding any communication with
their Panslavistic friends in Servia and Austria, but, should
their army attempt to cross the Danube, it will be obliged to
pass under the guns of these two fortified positions,
Kalafat, that has recently gained so much notoriety, is
nothing more than one of those straggling places, composed
of farm-houses, peasants' huts, residences of landed proprie-
tors, and mercantile establishments, that one meets on the
banks of the Lower Danube scattered here and there, without
a street or any other indication to tell the traveller whether
it is a town or a village.
But to return to Widdin: at the time we saw it, it wore a
peaceful aspect. Several Turkish and Greek vessels of large
burden were lying at anchor under, the guns of the fortress;
others loading or reloading their cargoes, altogether ex-
hibiting an appearance of activity, from which we might
infer that the blessings of commerce and industry were be-
coming gradually introduced into a country so long the home
of ignorance and sloth. The Russians, also, who had held
military possession of Wallachia and Moldavia since the
Hungarian war of independence, had returned to their own
barren steppes, much to the relief and joy of the inhabitants.
So far, all promised a long continuance of peace ; but how
vain is all human calculation * t
On leaving Widdin, we enjoyed a splendid prospect of the
vast range of the Balkan, over which towered in all its
84 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
grandeur the stupendous Kazan. The country did not offer
any other remarkable feature, save the tortuous windings of
the river, and the monotonous plains of Wallachia, till we
arrived at the town and fortress of Nicopolis, originally
built by the Romans under the emperor Trajan.
The situation of Nicopolis, lying partly on the brow of a
range of chalky cliffs, and partly on the shelving banks of
a narrow valley, through which runs the river Oswa, is ex-
tremely picturesque. The population, independently of its
garrison, amounts to about 10,000. Although Nicopolis is
not considered a strongly fortified place, it serves to cover
every approach to the Balkan by the pass of Grahova, and
as a point of observation to watch the movements of an
enemy on the other side of the Danube, at Turna, in
Wallachia, the Russians, those eternal enemies of the true
believer, took it in 1810, and again in 1829.
A little lower down the river, we came to Sestos, or Sistova,
a large commercial town, surrounded by a wall flankcd with
towers, and commanded by a castle, but of no importance as
a place of defence,
On leaving Sestos, the Danube continues to expand, till by
the time we got to Rustchuck, it was at least a league in breadth.
This town, one of the most important Turkish military posi-
tions on the Lower Danube, has a strongly fortified castle,
which completely commands the river, and the only pass in
this direction to the Balkan, that called Grahova, serving at
the same time as a tête du pont in front of Giurgevo, a large
Wallachian town on the other side of the river.
Rustchuck contains a population of about 50,000 besides
its garrison, which is always considerable ; and, like most of
the towns belonging to Turkey on the Danube, has suffered
repeatedly from the predatory wars of the Russians, parti-
cularly in 1828, when its fortifications were entirely dis-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 85
mantled, and the town mulcted of a large sum to save it
from being sacked and burnt by the enraged soldiery.
On leaving Rustchuck, the Danube, which had hitherto
flowed on in a regular continued channel, now divided itself
into a number of streams, inundating the country for miles
on the Wallachian side of the river, where there was nothing
to be seen but patches of low marshy soil, pools of stagnant
Water, and Small islets overgrown with reeds and bulrushes;
whereas the Turkish side of the river in Bulgaria still con-
tinued to present the same bold outline, even rising up in
Some places to the height of a little mountain, and wherever
danger might be apprehended bristling with cannon.
The next fortified town we come to is Turtukai, the theatre
of many a bloody battle between the Turks and Russians,
owing to the facility with which the river may here be
Crossed by an invading army; the banks are also exceedingly
low. It was taken by the Russians in 1810, and again in
1829, who each time left a sad memorial of their unwelcome
visit. At the commencement of the present war, it was from
here that the Turks boldly crossed the river to Oltenitza, on
the Wallachian side, and carried hostilities into the camp of
the enemy. -
We now arrived at Silistria, which may be termed, from the
great extent and strength of its fortifications, the citadel of
the Danube, forming as it does, with Rustchuck and
Schoumla, a connected triangle, which must be broken before
any enemy could attempt the passage of the Balkan in this
direction with safety. -
Silistria was taken in 1829 by the Russians, after a pro-
tracted siege of nine months; and truly we cannot too highly
appreciate the valour of the 12,000 gallant Turks that held
it so long against an overwhelming force of 50,000 men,
when we remember that at this time the fortifications merely
86. TURKEY, RUSSIA,
consisted of long weak curtains, with a few miserable bastions
badly planned and worse built. We saw it in this state when
we journeyed down the Danube for the first time, in 1835.
Since then, the town has been strongly fortified, and now,
with its castle bristling with cannon, it offers a bold front
against an invading army: it has spacious well-built barracks,
and a population of about 20,000, and appears, altogether to
be one of the most prosperous and commercial places on the
Danube, if we might judge from the neatness of the houses,
the well-supplied markets, and shops amply furnished with
whatever could conduce to comfort or luxury; to which we
may add, there were a number of vessels loading and un-
loading their cargoes in the harbour. - . .
After leaving Silistria, the Danube again divides into
Several streams; the Bulgarian hills had also completely
melted into a monotonous plain; and now we passed onward
through an immense expanse of water, more resembling a sea
studded with innumerable islets than a river ; and this con-
tinued till we got to Rassova, a small fortified town, defended
in front by an impassable marsh. - * -
The next place we stopped at is the little port of Tcher-
nawoda, where the steam-boat passenger may land, who
desires to avoid the malaria of the marshes, and the mos-
quitoes, and continue his journey by land to Kistendjeh, on
the Black Sea, by which he will escape a long and tedious
voyage through the Soulina channel, the only navigable
outlet of the Danube. - -
The emperor Trajan, it is said, entertained the idea of
making a canal from this place to the Black Sea, which, if
completed, would shorten the navigation of the Danube from
this point to Constantinople by nearly 100 leagues; at the
same time, the length of the canal would not exceed, thirty
miles, which might be effected at a trifling expense, especially
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 87
when we remember that the ground is quite level, and the
Karasou lake, in the centre of sufficient depth to assist the
undertaking. The late Sultan, Mahmoud, undoubtedly a
man of talent and energy, caused the ground to be measured
and marked out when we were here in 1835, and would have
completed the work if he had not been threatened by a war
with Russia. Thus, between the selfish policy of Russia on
One side, which seeks to ruin the commerce of Austria and
Turkey on the Lower Danube, and the weakness of those
powers in submitting to her dictation, the poor mariner has
no other alternative than to adopt the long and tortuous
Soulina channel, which, owing to the accumulation of sand at
the bar, can only receive vessels of 100 tons burden. Besides,
if he should be fortunate enough to escape being shipwrecked
On some of the numerous sandbanks that obstruct his
passage, he is almost certain to carry with him the seeds of
an intermittent fever that will never leave him. . . . .
What can more decidedly prove the barbarism of Russia
than this? - A Pagan monarch, and a Mahometan monarch,
would have had this canal cut to benefit the commerce of
the world; whereas, the Tzar, who calls himself not only a
Christian sovereign, but a pontiff, made even the attempt to
do it a casus belli/ We may ridicule the inertness of the
Turk, but how can we sufficiently express our contempt for
a mighty emperor, and all the dukes and electors, princes
and margraſs, kings and landgraſs of Germany ?, who have
tamely permitted such an infraction of the rights of nations—
who have allowed this noble river, which flows through their
own dominions, which rises in the very heart of Germany, to
be reduced to a state nearly useless to all purposes of com-
merce I Can we then wonder at the general discontent in
Germany, and every other country, where men find them-
Selves the subjects of princes who seem to have lost all the
88 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
chivalry and patriotism of their forefathers, and to regard
their people only as a machine to be worked for their exclu-
sive benefit .
But to continue our voyage. At Rassova the mighty stream
once more leaves its bed, and scatters its waters over an im-
mense district, forming here and there stagnant pools, and
breaking up the land into tiny islets, the whole overgrown
with reeds and sedgy grass, the home of malaria, mosquitoes,
and every poisonous insect. -
At length, we came to Hirsova, a species of oasis in the
desert, prettily situated on an undulating eminence, with a
fortified castle, and a large garrison ; its chief importance
arising from the circumstance that it covers every point in
this direction where an enemy might attempt, to effect a
landing in that rectangular peninsula called the Dobrouji,
inhabited by a remnant of that unfortunate tribe of Tatars, the
Nogay, who were nearly all destroyed by the Russians, when
they seized upon the Crimea, and those vast countries on the
northern shore of the Black Sea. The poor Tatar follows the
same occupation here that his forefathers did, the breeding of
horses, for which they have been always famous. We spent
a few days among this people some years ago, on a shooting
excursion, when we found them strictly honest, truthful, and
trustworthy. ...--
The next fortified place we came to on the Turkish side of
the river, was Matschin, rather important for lying almost
opposite Brailow, a large town in Wallachia; it protects, in
conjunction with Hirsova, the passage of the Danube, and the
route by land to Warna and Schoumla.
Shortly after leaving Brailow, we passed the river Szereth,
which forms the boundary between Moldavia and Wallachia;
here the river again unites into one undivided stream, and
we are rapidly carried forward to Galatz, the only port Mol-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 89
davia has on the Danube. After passing this town, the river
again divides into several streams, and so continues till we
come to the little town of Reni, on the Pruth, where we enter
the territory of Russia. Somewhat lower down is Kartal,
opposite the Turkish town of Isaktchi, the most Ominous spot
in the Lower Danube to the Turks, for here, in days of yore,
the Russians were accustomed to throw across their bridge of
boats when they desired to carry fire and sword into the land
of the infidel. Most truly the locality is remarkably well
adapted for crossing, owing to the contracted bed of the river,
and the number of shallow streams and islets with which this
district abounds.
This position, with its more important neighbour Toultcha,
are now well fortified and garrisoned with a considerable
number of men, for being the last of the forts belonging to
the Turks on the Lower Danube, they serve as posts of
observation to watch the Russians, who have, partly by force,
but more by fraud, obtained possession of nearly the whole of
that immense district extending from hence to the Black
Sea, and known as the Delta of the Danube.
From here, there are six outlets or channels to the Black Sea;
of these, only one is navigable, and this, owing to the wilful
negligence of Russia in allowing the sand to accumulate at
its mouth, is now nearly impassable, except for vessels of light
burden. This has been done expressly to destroy the navigation
of the most important river in Europe; and yet Europe con-
tinues to look on with the most laudable degree of patience 1
We have now traced one of the most magnificent lines of
defence that any country could possess on its frontier, con-
sisting of a range of connecting forts, from Belgrade to the
Delta of the Danube, erected for the most part on an elevated
bank, with the broad deep Danube—the moat which must be
crossed—rolling beneath them; while the towering Balkan,
90 * TURKEY, RUSSIA,
with its deep defiles and forts, presents another formidable
barrier to any invading army who might have the hardihood
to attempt the conquest of the Eden beyond.
It may also be observed that the whole of these forts and
fortresses have been repaired since our last visit to the Lower
Danube in 1851, and additional defences constructed on the
most approved principles of modern Science; and now that
the Turks, with a burst of Asiatic energy, have thrown off
their former sluggishness, and are aided by the disciplined
valour of a number of clever European officers who have
taken service in the Turkish army, we may venture to hope
that the Russians will bitterly repent the buccaniering war
they have commenced. Still, we cannot deny the difficulty
of protecting such a long line of frontier against so powerful
and dangerous an enemy as Russia. The different garrisons
required amount to many thousand men; add to which, vast
resources are necessary to enable any empire, however strong,
to carry on a protracted war.
Widdin, Silistria, Rustchuck, Varma, and Schoumla, cannot
be reduced, supposing their garrisons to be gifted with but
ordinary courage, except by a regular and lengthened siege.
It must also be remembered that the passage of the Danube
from the Wallachian side to the Turkish is especially difficult,
owing to the circumstance that nearly the whole of the
Turkish fortified positions are, as we have shown, constructed
on an elevated bank, and so placed as to command the river
and the low lands of Moldo-Wallachia. In addition to this,
the Russians, as the aggressive party, want fortified positions
on their side, to serve as bridge-heads, for the purpose of
covering and protecting so difficult an operation as crossing
a river in the face of a well-manned fortress. However, what
they have done so repeatedly is not now impossible.
The operative base of Widdin is Sophia and the Sumagh
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 91
passes of the Balkan. If this fortified town were to fall,
together with the fortified camp at Kalafat, Servia and the
whole of the western part of European Turkey would then be
at the merey of the Russians; because it is to be feared, with
a Russian army, ready to assist them, the whole of the Servian
nationality would fly to arms, when they might make common
cause with their warlike brethren the free mountaineers of
Montenegro, whose territory is only separated from the Ser-
vian frontier by a small strip of land by way of Prejepolje,
about thirty-five English miles in length. This would be in
every point of view most disastrous to the Turks, as it would
cut off all communication between the Bosnian Mahometans
and the rest of the Turkish empire, who would, we fear,
brave as they undoubtedly are, be obliged to succumb to an
armed host of fanatic Christians twice as numerous.
Lower down the Danube, the Turks are in a far better
position to arrest an invading army, the fortified towns of
Rustchuck and Silistria being well supported in the rear by
Schoumla, behind which, on the other side of the Balkan,
they possess, as we before observed, in Tatar-Bazardjik and
Adrianople, admirable positions for a reserve army to cover
the route to Constantinople.
Rustchuck is not so systematically fortified as Silistria,
because, lying on a dead flat on the banks of the Danube, and
commanded behind by high hills, an invading army in pos-
session of these, Rustchuck, however bravely defended, could
not sustain a siege for any length of time. It is to be hoped,
therefore, that these hills have been fortified by strong re-
doubts since our last visit. This is the more to be desired,
as Rustchuck, being the seat of the Danubian Government,
with a population of 50,000, it is important that it should
be put into a complete state of defence. If this were done,
the Turks would thus have a solid angle in Rustchuck to the
92 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
triangle we before alluded to in Schoumla and Silistria. Still,
the great danger to Turkey lies in the Russians getting pos-
session of Widdin and Kalafat, as all the other fortresses in
Servia held by the Turks would avail nothing to prevent the
march of an invading army.
In order to be prepared against contingencies, we cannot
but think that an expeditionary force of French and English
troops might be employed to great advantage in that species
of promontory we described as extending from the fortified
town of Rassova to Kistendjeh on the Black Sea, with this
advantage, that they could be conveyed there by sea, and
placed in a position to enable them to take the Russians in
the rear, should they force the passage of the Danube, and
move on Adrianople.
At all events, whatever may be the final issue of the present
war, we may be assured the resistance offered by the Turks
will be far more formidable than that of 1828. At that time
the Janissaries, who formed the most effective military force
of the Turkish empire, existed no more ; the battle of Nava-
rino left the Turks without a fleet; and several Albanian and
Bosnian chiefs were in open revolt; yet it took the Russians
eighteen months' fighting before they reached Adrianople.
How much greater is the difficulty in the present day! they
have now to contend against a well-disciplined army, com-
manded by a chief so experienced as Omar Pacha has proved
himself to be ; and though the Asiatic hordes who have
crowded to the defence of the Sultan have not been trained
to European discipline, still it is in a great measure replaced
by the ardour of fanaticism and their own wild valour,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 93
CHAPTER VII.
Demoralizing influence of Russia—The Moldo-Wallachians—their origin—their
early history—The ancient Dacians—their wars with the Goths, Huns, and
Turks—How they became annea:ed to the Turkish empire—Russian intrigue to
obtain possession of the Principalities—Disastrous effects of a Russian protecto-
fate—Sufferings of the Moldo-Wallachians during the Russian military occupa-
tion of the country.
HAVING already given an account of the defensive position of
the Turks on the Lower Danube, and expressed our regret
at seeing them the victims of the most unjust and unwarrant-
able aggression recorded in the history of nations, we will now
bespeak the sympathy of our readers for the miserable inha-
bitants of Wallachia and Moldavia. The Turks at least have
the Satisfaction of being allowed to meet their enemies with
arms in their hands; but these poor people are obliged, not
Only to feed, clothe, and lodge the soldiers who invade their
country, but to fight with them against their own sovereign,
or be shot as traitors.
Happily, such arsystem of demoralization, such an abuse of
power, very rarely occurs even among the most barbarous
nations. Public opinion is, however, at length aroused; and
though the despotic princes of Europe may be anxious to
prevent war, they cannot restrain popular indignation when
justly provoked; and now that the Sword has been drawn,
we are inclined to think it will not be again sheathed till
Russia has been taught, to her cost, that honesty is the best
policy.
94. TURKEY, RUSSIA,
For almost every other war, even those among the most
barbarous nations, there has always existed some ostensible
cause, whether justifiable or not; in the present instance,
however, there is absolutely none, for the plea of interfering
in behalf of the Christians of European Turkey, by a power
so intolerant of every other religion but the Greek Church
in its own dominions, is too flimsy even to deserve a moment's
consideration. If Philip of Macedon and his heroic son sub-
verted the liberties of Greece, moderation at least guided
their counsels, and the latter had the honour, through his
Greek soldiers, of spreading civilization to the remotest parts
of the known world. The same maxim guided the arms of
the Romans in all their conquests. But the audacious power
that would now give its laws to the world ranks, so far as
regards civilization, in the very lowest scale among the nations.
of Europe—a power that only conquers to enforce a despotism
still more galling than that of the bungling, exclusive Maho-
metan, striking as it does at the root of all civil and religious
liberty. -
Again, if Russia were a great maritime nation, with her
ships on every sea, and her commerce extending into every
land, her people civilized, and in full possession of their rights
and liberties, we should ourselves rejoice to see such a power
take the place of the indolent Turk, who during his long rule,
has taught nothing, established nothing; but when we know
that she is the reverse of all this, we tremble at the possi-
bility of her acquiring possession of some of the finest
countries in our hemisphere. Such a position would enable
her to hold in her hands the keys of Europe and Asia, and
must be regarded as one of the most disastrous events that
could happen. The Black Sea, the Caspian, and the Baltic,
would then indeed be Russian lakes; the Danube, that fine
outlet of Central Europe, entirely her own; while, with the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 95.
Adriatic on one side, the Egean, the Dardanelles, and the
Mediterranean on the other, with an accession to her strength
of millions of the most warlike races in the world, she might
thus indeed dictate laws to half the world. 3.
But to return to Moldavia and Wallachia. It has been the
misfortune of the inhabitants of these principalities, that, like
the Magyars of Hungary, amidst all the changes and revolu-
tions to which they have been exposed, they have never
fraternised with their neighbours, nor formed alliances that
could enable them to make head against the continued en-
croachments of a powerful enemy; and notwithstanding they
have sprung from a common origin, and speak the same
language, they have most unwisely divided their community
into separate states, established separate governments, pur-
sued separate interests, and, as the natural consequence of
division, they have weakened their power as an independent
people. -
At present this nationality numbers, according to their own
computation, not far short of 10,000,000. Moldo-Wallachia,
it is said, contains 4,000,000; the adjoining countries belong-
ing to Austria, Hungary, Transylvania, and the Bukowina,
3,000,000; while the remaining 3,000,000 are scattered in
Russo-Bessarabia, and in the provinces belonging to Turkey
On the other side of the Danube.
We have the authority of Herodotus for saying that these
people were the original inhabitants of the whole of Dacia and
part of Pannonia, before those countries were conquered by
the emperor Trajan in the second century of the Christian
era. We are also told by other Roman historians that they
were to a certain extent civilized, and so well acquainted with
the art of war, that it required all the force of the Roman
empire, and the skill of their best generals, to subjugate them.
The valour and misfortunes of their last king, Decebalus,
96 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
so long the terror of the Roman armies, are still recounted
in the traditions of the storyteller, in the songs of the bard;
and, like the memory of our own Caractacus, will live for
ever in the page of history.
Happily for the world, the Romans were a civilized people.
Wherever they carried their arms, no sooner was resistance
at an end than the work of civilization commenced. Under
their fostering care, cities of the most magnificent proportions
were founded, roads constructed, and Swamps and steppes
converted into luxuriant pastures and Smiling gardens. They
had also the wisdom to amalgamate, as far as it was practi-
cable, with the people they had subdued.
The beautiful and fertile Dacia must have been a favourite
colony of the Romans, since we find it frequently alluded to
in Roman history as the most flourishing and commercial
of all the provinces of the Roman empire. But, unhappily
for its welfare, the glory of the Roman empire was at this
time on the wane; and as Dacia lay directly in the path of
all the numerous hordes and races of Northern Europe and
Northern Asia, as they marched to the Sack and pillage of the
Eternal City, it became the theatre of some of the severest
struggles recorded in history, its inhabitants having to con-
tend alternately with the Goths, the Huns, the Avars, the
Bulgars, and the Scythians.
At the time of the inroad of the Magyars into Pannonia,
the Dacians had again become a powerful, united people,
governed by their native princes, whose territories, in addition
to what is now called Moldavia and Wallachia, consisted of
Transylvania, the Bukowina, Bessarabia, with the whole left
bank of the Danube nearly from Semlin to the Black Sea.
Their sovereignty was, however, of short duration, for they
speedily fell, like the inhabitants of Pannonia, under the
yoke of the Magyars, and so continued till a chieftain, it is
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 97
presumed, of the name of Wallah, made his appearance, who,
by force of arms, wrested from the conqueror the territory
believed by this people to be the cradle of their race, which
they occupy to this day, and have been ever since called
Wallacks. At a subsequent period, unhappily for their own
interests, they separated, the river Moldau furnishing a dis-
tinctive appellation to one portion of the principality,+
Moldavia. -
Notwithstanding the separation of this part of the ancient
Dacia into two principalities, the inhabitants continued to
preserve with little difference the same form of government,
language, and religion,-the Greek; and in the present day.
differ but little from each other in any of their national cha-
racteristics. Nor do we find that they have ever been en-
gaged in mutual hostilities. Formidable from their union of
interests, their alliance was courted by the kings of Hungary
and Poland; and they continued to preserve their character
as independent states until the advent of the Turks in Eastern
Europe.
These terrible warriors were led on by Sultan Bajazet,
surnamed Ilderim (lightning), who by his fiery impetuosity
spread the terror of the Turkish arms throughout the whole
of Christendom. After conquering Anatolia, Iconium, Servia,
and Bulgaria, he crossed the Danube to seek new foes in
Moldavia and Wallachia. The inhabitants of these provinces,
surrounded on every side by their formidable enemy, in the
name of Christianity sought the aid of their Christian brethren
in Hungary and Poland. But the age of chivalry was past,
that of religious intolerance had commenced; as they found
to their sorrow when they appealed to the Christian benevo-
lence of the Pope, beseeching him to command a crusade to
be preached in their favour against the general enemy of
Christianity. The reply of his Holiness was, that unless they
H
98 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
entered the true Church, and acknowledged his supremacy,
they must be left to die as heretics.
Being thus abandoned to their own resources, the long and
bloody war that these poor people waged against their ruth-
less invaders, is perhaps unequalled for heroism and obstinate
resistance, if we except the Holy War of Scanderbeg, carried
on against the same enemy, in the mountains and defiles of
Albania. Year after year they saw their fields desolated;
their substance wasted ; their towns, cities, and villages
sacked and burnt; their wives and daughters carried into
captivity. Still they continued to resist, so long as there was
a man able to wield a sword. It seemed as if the old Dacian
blood engrafted on the noble Roman, had produced a race that
could only be subdued by extermination. The Turks appear to
have entertained this opinion, since we find that the war was
at length concluded between Solyman the Great and the
Wallacks; the latter consenting to become tributaries under
an agreement which left them independent in every respect
except the obligation to pay an annual sum to the Ottoman
Porte.
From this time, the inhabitants of Moldo-Wallachia con-
tinued in the undisturbed enjoyment of all their privileges
till the reign of Sultan Achmet, about the beginning of the
eighteenth century, when that monarch under the pretence, ill
or well founded, that they had facilitated the invasion of
Turkey by Russia, under Peter II, not only deprived them of
the right of electing their own sovereigns; but arbitrarily de-
posed the reigning princes; and subjected the country to
every species of extortion and degradation, short of the total
loss of their liberty and national institutions,
Coerced by a powerful army stationed in strong fortresses
on their frontier, it from this time became the practice of the
Turkish Sultans to farm the Sovereignty of the principalities
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 99
to the highest bidder, generally a Greek of the Fanar, who
assumed for the time being the title of Hospodar. These
foreign harpies, having no interest in the country beyond that
of enriching themselves during their dangerous and generally
short-lived rule, resorted to every species of chicanery and
oppression that a Greek could invent to drain their miserable
Subjects of their last para.
The grievances of the inhabitants of Moldavia and Walla-
chia were at their height when Peter the Great ascended the
throne of the Tzars; but that astute monarch had the
wisdom to see that the time was not yet ripe for detach-
ing these semi-independent states altogether from Turkish
dominion. He made them, however, Subservient to his in-
terest, by his secret negotiations with the Hospodars, who
commived at the passage of his armies through their territories,
in his subsequent wars with the Ottoman Porte. But as the
power of the Russian empire increased, his successors were
not so easily satisfied; and as the wrongs of the inhabitants
continued unredressed, they formed a plausible pretext for the
Russian cabinet, in the name of humanity and religion, to
impose a protectorate; in which they so well succeeded, that
in a very short time the authority of the Sultan over these
provinces became little more than nominal. He could neither
remove nor appoint a Hospodar without the consent of the
Russian government in its right as protector, nor march an
army into the principalities, even in his own defence, without
committing a breach of treaty, and perhaps provoking an
armed intervention.
Whereas, on the other hand, the intrigue had been so
dexterously carried on, that the Tzar on his part might
march an army into the principalities whenever the Hospo-
dars demanded it, either in their own defence, to suppress
a local insurrection, or repel any aggression of their sovereign
100 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
lord and master the Sultan, which might be construed into
an infringement of their religion, their privileges, their rights
and liberties. But all this would not satisfy the ambition of
a cabinet whose real aim was actual possession. It was,
however, necessary to proceed with caution; if there was an
identity of religion, there was none of race, or language, be-
tween the Russians and these descendants of the old Roma-.
Dacian, who prided themselves on their origin; still it was
advisable that they should become familiar with the military
occupation of their country by the troops of the Tzar; and
to carry out this effectually without exciting either the
jealousy of Austria, the neighbouring power, or the hostility
of the Sultan, as suzerain,_an emeute was occasionally got up,
sufficiently alarming to the Hospodars and the Boyards for
them to appeal to their powerful protector for his assistance.
But the most clever manoeuvre of this far-seeing cabinet
was the promulgation of a liberal constitution for Wallachia
and Moldavia, manufactured at St. Petersburg! which among
other provisions contained the following:—
A general assembly for each principality, formed of a cer-
tain number of Senators, in whom was vested the right of
electing the reigning prince, and of examining the acts of the
government. Freedom of commerce, liberty of conscience,
the responsibility of ministers, the establishment of a quaran-
time, and a sanitary cordon to protect the public health, the
organization of an army on the European footing, together
with the erection of civil and criminal tribunals for the better
administration of justice.
All Europe admired the disinterestedness of the court of
St. Petersburg, and the extraordinary liberality of the young
Tzar Nicholas, who had wrung from the Ottoman Porte so
many important concessions, and who so generously consti-
tuted himself the protector of the principalities. - *
*.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 101
Nothing could exceed the enthusiasm of the Boyards; the
peasants were wild with joy at the prospect of so much
happiness—at the golden age then about to dawn upon their
country; while strangers from the adjoining provinces, at-
tracted by the great fertility of the soil, and a desire to live
under a government that promised so many blessings, became
naturalized, and purchased land. At the same time, mer-
chants and manufacturers, from England and other parts of
the continent, were continually travelling over the country
to select positions adapted for commercial speculation and
the erection of manufactories.
Brailow in Wallachia, and Galatz in Moldavia, both situ-
ated on the Danube, were eagerly seized as most favourable
positions; and it was the general opinion of these enter-
prising men that, considering the great fertility of the Soil of
these principalities, and the growing wants of the crowded
cities of Western Europe, they must as a consequence become
in process of time as great rivals in trade as Genoa and
Venice in the days of their power and prosperity.
How delusive are the hopes of nations! How fallacious
the expectations of nations! The ink of the treaty with the
Ottoman Porte and the cabinet of St. Petersburg, which
guaranteed a constitution that promised so much good, was
scarcely dry when the Russian troops, in 1828, crossed the
Pruth, to invade Turkey. From that moment the inhabi-
tants of Moldavia and Wallachia were taught to estimate at
its proper value the protection of a Tzar of Russia!
To enter into the various details, the complicated intrigues,
by which Russia contrived to further her own interests in
each separate branch of the administration, and render nuga-
tory every article of the so-called constitution, would alone
fill a volume. Under the mask of philanthropy—a desire to
rescue its co-religionists from the oppressive rule of a Maho-
102 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
medan sovereign, the real intentions of that unprincipled
cabinet were concealed from the eyes of the deluded inha-
bitants, who found to their sorrow, when the curtain was
withdrawn, that two despots instead of one appeared on the
stage, to rivet still more firmly the chains that enslaved
them.
We cannot, however, in 1854, describe more truly the
effects of a Russian protectorate than by extracting a passage
from our own work on these countries, written in 1836;” in
which the reader will find that there is no prospect of
removing the incubus which has so long oppressed this un-
happy people, unless it is effected through the joint inter-
vention of the two great Western powers, now that an
opportunity of doing so is happily arrived.
“Although,” said a Boyar to me, whose name we forbear
to mention, “our country, through the thraldom of our old
tyrants the Turks, was reduced to the verge of ruin, still, with
a soil so fertile, and in possession of a constitution that
guaranteed our liberties, we looked towards the future with
confidence and hope. How illusive were our anticipations !
From the moment we were cursed with Russian protection—
from the moment that power interfered in the adminis-
tration of our affairs, every measure adopted by the senate
or the government has been subsidiary to her views and
interests. But this is not all; the country has been inun-
dated with Russian agents, avowed and secret; no public
assembly, no private dwelling, from the cot of the peasant to
the palace of the prince, is exempt from their intriguing
influence. The trading classes are told that the country
will never be prosperous till it is united to the grand empire.
The peasants are taught to look upon their seignorial lords
as tyrants. The vanity of the rich man is flattered by
* The Western Caucasus, vol. ii. p. 253, published by Colburn & Co,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 103
jewelled crosses; the poor and venal noble barters the wel-
fare and independence of his country for a bribe; while our
Hospodars are nothing more than the most servile slaves to
the will of the autocrat. Lastly, our much-vaunted consti-
tution, from which so many advantages were to be derived,
has become a dead letter, because every decree of the Senate,
although approved by the reigning prince, is null, unless
sanctioned by the protecting powers, Russia and Turkey;
and however mortifying the conviction, we feel assured that
Russia will never cease her intrigues and machinations till
our principalities are incorporated in her already overgrown
empire; unless indeed the great Western powers interfere to
prevent an act of such flagrant injustice; for any opposition
on our part can never avail to prevent it.” -
However severe may be the sufferings of the inhabitants
of Moldavia and Wallachia, in consequence of their country
having become the principal theatre of the war between
Russia and Turkey, yet this circumstance may be productive
to them of much future good, because it will tend to place
most forcibly before the political world of Europe the ano-
malous position in which they stand—owing allegiance to
two foreign powers, and yet submitting to the rule of native
princes whose weakness prevents their being anything more
than mere puppets to the mighty autocrat of the north.
In addition to a succession of disputes, quarrels, and wars,
in which their country has been embroiled during the last
fifty years with Russia and Turkey, they have had the misfor-
tune to see it devastated by the locust-like armies, first of
one of these protecting powers, and then of the other.
But this is not the only evil. We must also take into
account the paralysing effect this has had upon every species of
industry, and the demoralization that ever follows in the train
of armies far more civilized than the semi-barbarian hordes
104 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
that follow the standard of the Tzar and the Sultan,—a
demoralization so disastrous that even were this unhappy
people to be immediately reinstated in the full enjoyment of
all their rights and liberties, more than half a century must
elapse before anything resembling confidence and security
could be restored to a country so long cursed with the pro-
tection of two such powers as Russia and Turkey. Inde-
pendent of the numerous evils to be rectified in every branch
of the administration, the peasantry have become so brutal-
ized as to be almost insensible to their degraded condition;
and the better, classes dead to all the higher feelings of our
nature.
We had an opportunity of witnessing the effects of a
Russian military occupation of these countries, in all its
horrors, first in 1835, and again in 1851. The fearful details
of the first we fully described in a former work; the latter,
although by no means so calamitous, had however the effect
ôf producing a scarcity of provisions, that almost amounted
to a famine. This will be easily understood by those who
are acquainted with the elements of which a Russian army
is composed, and the violent means resorted to by a Russian
commissariat when the imperial mandate is issued for pro-
visioning a large body of troops. Every demand is then
made at the point of the bayonet; and when all is devoured,
the very grain which had been reserved for sowing is seized
upon. . .
Can we then wonder that these principalities, notwith-
standing the advantages they possess of soil, climate, and
situation—together with the noble Danube, navigable for all
the purposes of commerce—should be at the present moment
still lying for the most part in a state of nature, owing to
the want of inhabitants to till the soil; or that the popu-
lation should have been reduced within the last century, by
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 105
war, pestilence, and famine—to nearly one half of its original
amount ; and that a people who were, then the terror of the
Turks, and could bring into the field 200,000 men-at-arms,
should in our day become the veriest slaves of slaves, with
scarcely a remnant of the courage, the patriotism, and the
love of liberty that distinguished their noble ancestors?
We have not made these statements without sufficient
authority; the public statistics of the country will prove
that since the infliction of a Russian protectorate, the popu-
lation has diminished nearly one-fourth.
106 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
CHAPTER VIII.
Moldo-Wallachia considered with reference to its agricultural and commercial
capabilities—Mode of travelling—Characteristics of the Moldo-Wallachians—
Wallachian Inns—Villages—Monasteries—Their great wealth—Superstitions ºf
the people—Demoralizing effects of the Greek religion—The various races that
inhabit Moldo-Wallachia—Boyards and peasants—Their costume—Their lan-
guage—Indications of their Roman origin—Distinguishing traits of the
Gypsies and the Jews—Their habits, manners, and customs.
IN nearly every other country we had visited on the Lower
Danube, with the exception of these unfortunate principalities,
cursed as they are with such a multitude of Protectors we
found great changes had taken place for the better since our
last tour in 1835-36. Galatz, Brailow, and one or two other
ports on the Danube, have indeed somewhat advanced ;
Bucharest, and Jassy, may also be said to be in a progressive
state; but the country in general, and its inhabitants, might
have lain in a trance during the whole intervening time for
any improvements we could discover.
Agriculture is still carried on with the same carelessness,
as if the husbandmen were ever in dread of the visit of some
marauding hordes; and when you do meet with cultivated
fields, they do not succeed other as in other countries in un-
broken succession, but generally lie enclosed by some dense
forest, waste land, or impassable marsh, as if it were in-
tended to conceal them from the eye of a stranger. Maize is
still the favourite production, and yields with scarcely any
labour the most prodigious return; for nothing can exceed
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 107
the fertility of the lowlands in Moldavia and Wallachia, and
such is their vast extent, that nothing is wanting but a suf-
ficient number of labourers, and a government that will give
some security to property, to render these countries what
they were in the time of the ancient Romans, one of the
principal granaries of Europe. The soil is everywhere of the
same dark rich colour that we see in some of the most fertile
districts in Hungary, reminding us of the lands on the
Mississippi, with this great advantage, to an agriculturist, that
it requires no manure, and from its peculiar qualities scarcely
any labour in its cultivation.
ARRIVAL AT A WALLACHIAN INN.
In our excursions through the country we found the public
vehicles had undergone no alterations; we had only to choose
between the great diligence called the Kerontza, a sort of

108 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
waggon, roofed with leather, and capacious enough to make it
a home by day or night ; or the Karouchor, which the post-
master furnishes to the traveller, a nondescript affair, re-
sembling a long narrow box without a lid, poised upon four
wheels, frequently of solid wood—not a single mail or piece of
iron being used in its construction, and entirely without
springs. -
The harness for the horses, both of this and its more
gigantic rival, the Kerontza, is of the most primitive descrip-
tion; to a single shaft, four, and sometimes ten or twelve
horses, according to the state of the road, are fastened by
means of long ropes, and driven by postilions, who alto-
gether dispense with either saddle, bridle, or stirrup.
In our excursion, we were contented with the Karouchor,
a pair of horses, and a ragged postilion, clothed in a sheep-
skin jacket, with a towering lamb-skin cap, which reminded
us of our old friends the Tatars; and to render the resem-
. blance complete, there was the same bundle of hay in the
centre, to serve as a sofa by day, and a bed by night. As for
roads, except the remains of such as had been constructed by
the Romans, nearly 2,000 years ago, there are none, unless we
dignify with the name those beaten tracks through the fields
and forests, which become in Summer intolerable from dust,
and in rainy weather, a mass of mud.
Our tour being made at a time when the sun had burnt
everything to powder, if we were blinded with dust, we had at
least the satisfaction of escaping the fate of many a luckless
traveller, who in some lonely district finds his vehicle sticking
fast in the mud, with the prospect of being devoured by
wolves, unless an additional number of horses could be pro-
cured to drag him out of the mire. But we had entirely
forgotten a danger equally alarming, that of being consumed
by fire, for in consequence of the rapid rate at which we
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 109
travelled over a plain smooth as a bowling green, the axle-tree
more than Once took fire; still the accident, however alarming
to us, did not in the least disturb the equanimity of our
Tacian Jehu, as he drove the carriage into the first marsh he
came to ; and then rattled on, smoking his short pipe, as,
unconcerned as if nothing had happened, occasionally repeat-
ing the operation to prevent a recurrence. -
The villages through which we passed, consisting for the
most part of huts half buried in the earth, presented the
Same wretched appearance as those we had seen seventeen
years ago; nor were the inhabitants less miserable. Poor
people I this was the species of hut adopted by their ancestors,
when, after the fall of the Roman empire, their stately towns
and villages were sacked and burnt by the Goths and Huns;
but as these marauders were followed in regular succession by
hordes of Magyars, Bulgars, Tatars, Turks, and now Russians,
no doubt the plan of concealing their homes has never been
changed. Nay, in some districts, these subterranean villages
have been so effectually concealed, with grass growing on the
top, that were it not for the tell-tale smoke we see making its
way upward from the earth, like a spent volcano, we might
ride over them without suspecting that several human beings
were living beneath.
Near each of these human warrens may be seen a very re-
markable building, rising to a height of about six feet from the
ground, and extending to a length of from 300 to 500 feet;
this is the village granary, made of open trellis-work, for the
purpose of drying the maize ; a capital plan, by-the-bye, the
efficiency of which is one of the reasons why the maize pur-
chased in these principalities keeps so well, and does not get
injured during its exportation.
As to towns, they are few and far between; and when at
length. We do come upon one, the streets, like the roads, are
110 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
unpaved, except indeed in the principal ones; which, like
those of Russia, are frequently laid down with boards; but
as the common sewer runs underneath, and is never cleansed,
save by a thunder-shower, we require no other explanation to
account for the origin of the fevers that decimate the inhabi-
tants of a Moldo-Wallachian town during at least six months
of the year.
INTERIOR OF A WALLACHIAN INN.
With respect to the inns, they are as yet in no way supe-
rior to the Turkish hans on the other side of the Danube;
neither are the arrangements for personal comfort any better.
A board, elevated a few feet from the ground, furnished with
a round piece of wood, or a bag stuffed with hay as a pillow,
serves for a bed; while the larder furnishes no dish more
savoury than the mamalinga, a porridge made from maize
flour. There are, it is true, a few chairs and a table in those
of a better description; and the pious traveller may pay his
devotions to the Virgin (Panagia), whose picture is suspended

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 111
over a little altar at one end of the room; or he may admire
the gaudy prints of all the renowned saints in the Greek
Calendar, which hang suspended on the walls.
Some of the richest monasteries in any country are to be
found in Moldavia and Wallachia: how they escaped when
the country was ravaged and plundered so repeatedly by the
armies of Russia and Turkey, is difficult to explain.
The clergy of the Greek church, here, as in every other
country we visited, are remarkable for the ignorance they
display in conversation; indeed it is no exaggeration to Say
that their education is far inferior to that of the clergy of
any other sect of the Christian church; neither do we know
of any other form of worship burdened by so many degrading
Superstitions; and no mode of faith that tends more to debase
the intellect, and degrade man for ever to a willing slave.
Among the hosts of Saints and angels to be propitiated,
the Almighty seems to be entirely forgotten. Absolution,
and a payment of a fee to the priest, relieves the conscience of
a man from the weight of any crime, however heinous.
Miracles are believed to be performed by the images of
Saints. Holy water is used as an antidote against the evil
eye, witchcraft, the plague, and every disease to which man is
subject. It also preserves the cattle in the field from thunder
and lightning; the trees from blight; a house from taking
fire; a ship from being lost at Sea, &c. Still, perhaps, of all
Tthe influences which corrupt the public morals, none exercise
a more pernicious effect, particularly among the higher classes,
than the facility with which this church gives its sanction to
the dissolution of the marriage tie.
A stranger, in wandering through these countries, must
not look for specimens of the ancient Roma-Dacian race
among the rich boyards—a class as much degenerated from
their warlike ancestors, as is the modern Spanish Hidalgo from
112. TURKEY, RUSSIA,
those of ancient times; neither must he seek them in towns,
where he will find for the most part a mixed population of
Jews, Germans, Greeks, Russians, Armenians, and a hundred
other nationalities, speaking as many languages as the
builders of Babel; differing as much in their costume as the
figurantes at a Carnival ball. He is to be found in the
forest as a wood-cutter; on the vast prairie as a shepherd;
everywhere as a tiller of the soil; and on the mountain top,
free and independent as the air he breathes, for to this last
home of the conquered brave, the Hun, and the Goth, the
Tatar, and the Turk, were never able to pursue his warlike
ancestors. These are the men from whose incessant toil is
wrung the wealth that supports the dissipated boyard and
the lazy priest—the provision that supports the half-famished
armies of their protecting sovereigns, Russia and Turkey,
when they select these plains as the theatre of their inter-
minable wars .
However weather-beaten their features may be, however
ragged their sheepskin jackets, however wild and uncouth
they may appear with their black hair, streaming in the
wind; we cannot forbear every now and then admiring the
finemanly forms, broad shoulders, and expressive countenances
of these peasants, indicating them to be exactly the sort of
men to make capital soldiers, and support the fatigues of war.
In some of the rural districts, the boyard of the olden time
may still be seen; he is a fine athletic, handsome fellow, who,
disdaining the French foppery of the town, retains the
national costume—an immense turban-like cap of black
Astrakan fur, and a capacious mantle, either of fur or sheep-
skin, usually worn with the fur inwards; the outside, especially
the sleeves, back, and collar, being embroidered in the gayest
colours, with various devices, such as the Greek cross, bouquets
of flowers, &c.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. II 3
If we regard the costume of these peasants, both men and
women, from the sandal on their feet to the covering on their
head, it may afford a contradiction of the supposed truism,
that change is necessarily the characteristic of man ;
since the dress of this people is, to this day, with little
variation, similar to that worn by the peasantry of the
Roman empire, in the neighbourhood of the capital. Again,
the corrupted dialect of the Latin, which is the language of
the inhabitants of Moldo-Wallachia, is a convincing proof
that they have some claim to be considered of Roman origin.
In fact, the features of the peasantry constantly reminded
us of the ancient Romans, especially those who occupy the
high lands. It is very evident, however, that there is a great
mixture among them—the descendants of the various pre-
datory hordes who passed through this country, held it
for a time, and then disappeared; for we as frequently see
the fine blue eye, and light brown hair of the Goth, as the
raven locks, bright dark eye, and high cheek bone of the
followers of Attila.
Among the other inhabitants of these principalities, we
may reckon the tribes of gypsies, who must be very nume-
rous, for they are to be seen in every part of the country,
and said to amount to more than 200,000. Here, as else-
where, they speak a jargon of their own, and tell you they
are the people of Pharaoh. The Moldo-Wallachian goyern-
ments, aware of their mischievous propensities, without
encouraging them to Settle, tolerate them; and, as in
other countries, they contrive to maintain themselves with-
out becoming a charge to the community. However
rigorous may be the weather, or however numerous the
wolves that prowl about these half deserted countries in
winter, they ever encamp in the open fields; and like the
wandering Arabs, arrange their tents in a semicircular form,
I
114 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
placing that of their chief in the centre. It is only those who
pay an annual tribute to the state, that is, a specific sum for
each male arrived at maturity, that are allowed to pursue
their wandering life; the remainder belong to the Boyards,
who employ them as domestic servants and labourers in the
field.
The migratory Hebrew also form a considerable portion of
the inhabitants, but they are chiefly to be found in the towns,
engaged in some species of commerce: they are easily known
by their eastern costume—a high fur cap, and long pelisse,
confined at the waist with a shawl. They bear about them
all the characteristics of their race in other lands; are said to
be wealthy; and according to their traditions, they came
from Persia, and settled here after the destruction of the
Persian empire. The government imposes a tax upon them,
called tolerance, by which they purchase the privilege of
living in the country.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 115
CHAPTER IX.
Observations on the present state of Turkey—Condition of the Christian population
wnder Turkish rule—Necessity for a reform in the laws relating to them—Dis-
affection of the Christians—Their democratic tendencies—Critical position of
Turkey–Turkish legislation—The Government of Russia and Turkey contrasted
—Proposed Colonization in Turkey—Insurrectionary movements of the Moldo-
Wallachians in 1848–Hostility of the liberal pnrty to priestly interests and
influence—Their attempt to form an alliance with the Hungarians—Friendly
disposition of the Greek Clergy and the Boyards towards Russia–Omar Pacha
and the foreign refugees in Turkey–Probable effects of their influence.
Now that the attention of the political world is happily
turned towards those hitherto nearly unknown countries
belonging to Turkey, on the Lower Danube, we think we are
justified in saying there is at length some hope of a brighter
future dawning upon them, some alleviation of that long
unbroken series of evils which has been their lot since the
fall of the Roman empire. Surely it is impossible, nay, we
cannot bring ourselves to believe, that in whatever treaties
shall be concluded between the belligerents their interests
will be forgotten. At all events, we trust they will not again
be surrendered to the demoralizing yoke of a Russian Pro-
tectorate. i
Again, the regeneration of the Turks is not to be effected
by fighting their battles, and then leaving them to relapse
into their former indolent barbarism, but by using the prun-
ing knife, till we have cut away from their social and political
system those varied evils which have rendered their govern-
116 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
ment a curse to all the unhappy people who have had the
misfortune to fall under its blighting influence.
As it has ever been Our aim as a traveller neither to dis-
tort nor exaggerate facts, we regret we cannot coincide with
some writers who represent the Turks as a pattern of libe-
rality and toleration. Civilization has been hitherto unhap-
pily confined to the inhabitants of Western Europe: the East
still lies under the yoke of the most pitiless oppression—the
same now as it was 3,000 years ago, the haunt of barbarism
and fanaticism—the home of superstitions and incorrigible
despotism.
It is true a material improvement has taken place of late
years in the administrative system in Turkey; and the con-
dition of the rajah has been considerably ameliorated wher-
ever the government possessed the power of enforcing its
reformatory measures. The reign of the bowstring has also
ceased, and personal freedom is placed under the protection
of the law, such as it is, while something resembling minis-
terial responsibility has been recognised; add to which,
the abolition of certain abuses has been succeeded by more
civilizing institutions—all this is a decided improvement on
the barbarism of former days, and for which we feel thankful;
but unfortunately the Turkis still too ignorant and fanatic to
lead the way in the regeneration of a country. He has been
too long the uncontrolled oppressor of the Christian to throw
aside all at once his prejudices, and render equal justice to a
class he has been taught from his infancy and by tradition to
regard as beneath contempt.
We all know the bitterness of sectarian prejudice, and the
evils resulting from it, even in our own country; but how
much more aggravated is the feeling when ignorance and the
most debasing Superstition combine to poison it. The Sultan
and his government, with the best intentions, may invest the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, II 7
members of each creed, Christian and Mahometan, with equal
rights; still the evil remains—the prejudices of caste and creed,
to frustrate the plans of the most just and equitable ruler
that ever existed. In addition to all this, and to increase the
difficulty, the whole machinery of the government is conducted
by Mahometans; while the position allowed to the Christian
is that of a mere helot. Hence, it only requires the advent
to rule, and power of the old fanatic Osmanli party, to see the
entire Order of things reversed—the Christian again trodden
to the earth—the inevitable consequence of the decrees of
former Sultans, who, to win over proselytes, and thereby in-
crease their strength and power, invested every believer in
Mahomet with the dignity of a free man and condemned
the unhappy Christian to remain a slave, without a hope for
the future, or an interest in the country that gave him birth.
We do not make these statements with a view of weaken-
ing the sympathy expressed by every humane enlightened man
for a people compelled to resist unprovoked aggression—far
from it, but what is already too well known to the enemies of
Turkey ought not to be withheld from her friends in England.
Our only object in exposing the grievances of the Christian
subjects of the Sultan has been, now that the crisis is actually
come, to have them removed, in order that nothing should be
left which might hereafter serve as a pretext for Russian in-
terference. This, in fact, is the rock upon which Russia has
built her hopes, for the overthrow of the Turkish monarchy.
This is the groundwork of the present quarrel; and by in-
vesting it with the character of a holy war, she expects to
draw to her standard millions of the fanatic members of her
own church; and eventually, through their assistance, to
absorb into her own dominions the whole of these beautiful
and fertile countries called European Turkey, whose population
for the most part conform to the tenets of the Greek Church.
118 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
It must therefore be evident, unless there is a total reform,
a thorough change in everything relating to the political,
religious, and social state of the Christian subjects of the
Sultan, Russia will never desist from her intrigues—never
cease exciting their hatred to the government of a Mahome-
tan ruler. Even if there were a peace established between
Russia and Turkey to-morrow, it could only be a suspension
of arms, to be broken with still greater chance of success on
the part of Russia at some more convenient opportunity.
Knowing this, France and England—the two powers most
interested in arresting the encroachments of Russia—ought
to insist, if necessary, that the Sultan should endow his
Christian subjects with such liberties and privileges that
they would not, even had they the choice, accept the despotic
ruler of Muscovy as a Sovereign. .
It is not too much to say, at this perilous moment, that
the destiny of the Turkish empire depends upon the wisdom
of the policy of France and England. They have to deal
with a subtle enemy, powerful beyond all calculation, whose
strength lies in the barbarism and fanaticism of that nation-
ality—the most numerous in the world—which obeys her
rule; a power that has attained just the necessary knowledge
of European arts and improvements to enable her to make
them subservient to her designs.
To break up this nationality—to divide its political inte-
rests in such a manner that its various tribes could never
coalesce—has become more than ever advisable now that the
ambitious projects of the Muscovites are thoroughly under-
stood. The Slavonian Poles are already the hereditary enemy
of the Russian. The 17,000,000 of Slavonians who acknowledge
the rule of Austria, are sufficiently educated to comprehend
what would be their fate if their destiny was controlled by
a power who rules by the sword, and would reduce them to
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 119.
the same state of slavery as that of her own serfs. They
have learned a lesson from the fall of Hungary—hence their
endeavours to form among themselves an Illyrian confe-
deracy. The Roumani of Moldavia and Wallachia have
ever evinced a desire to link their fate to that of the Ma-
gyars, and would to a certainty have joined them in the late
Hungarian war of independence had not Russia taken the
precaution to occupy their country with an overwhelming
army; but the 7,000,000 of Slavonians in European Turkey,
united by the same ties of religion and race to Russia, and
for the most part ignorant and fanatic, have been long
Schooled by their priests and Russian agents to regard the
Tzar as their protector—the man sent from God to deliver
them from the thraldom of an infidel ruler.
We alluded in our late work on European Turkey to the
wide-spread disaffection we found everywhere existing among
this people; and their fixed determination, either by their
own efforts, or by the aid of the Russians, to throw off the
yoke of the Porte altogether, unless their grievances were
redressed—that is to say, unless they were placed in the
same position as the Mahometan with respect to their poli-
tical and civil rights. We again directed public attention to
this subject in a series of articles in the “United Service
Magazine;” and although the movement has been checked
by the continued successes of the Turkish army, we fear that
this numerous nationality only wait for a favourable moment
to carry their designs into effect. i
As the present war has arisen from the refusal of France
and England to surrender the protectorate of the Christians,
and consequently the future destiny of the East, to Russia,
these powers have made themselves responsible for the future
security and good government of the Christian population of
the Ottoman empire. It is therefore highly important at
120 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
---
the present crisis that they should exact from the Porte
every necessary concession; in short, the Christians should
be placed in the same position as the Mahometans in what-
ever relates to their social, political, and religious state. This
must be done, and done quickly, if they would prevent
insurrection, which at this perilous moment would be certain
to produce the most fatal results to the cause they have
undertaken to support. -
Up to the present time, every attempt to give stability
to the Turkish empire has failed, because the canker still
remains that has been eating gradually into the very vitals
of the state, a canker that can only be removed by emanci-
pating the Rayahs, by elevating them to the dignity of
freemen, and by encouraging colonization from Western
Europe on so gigantic a scale as to build up at Once a bul-
wark against any future aggression of Russia.
What avails it if Turkey possesses the most extensive
countries, fertile to exuberance, with a Salubrious climate
and everything that can conduce to the happiness of man,
if they remain unpopulated? A desert they are, and a
desert they will continue so long as no modification of the
Turkish code in favour of Christians is effected. 2
Western Europe, with its superabundant population of
active, intelligent men, requires an outlet in her own hemi-
sphere; and why should she seek to people a new world,
when a railway-carriage or a steam-boat will convey her
children, after a pleasant journey of a few days, or weeks, to
some of the most fertile, beautiful, and Salubrious countries
in the world? If this project were carried into execution,
and the settlers assured of Safety, protection, and freedom,
in a very few years we should people the Turkish wilderness
with a population of intelligent agriculturists, enterprising
merchants, and active traders—men of the world, who would
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 121
add by their industry not only to the resources of the
Turkish empire, but by their example infuse a portion of
their own life and vigour into the few remaining inhabitants.
We should then hear no more of a Slavo-Tatar protectorate;
and surely if our assistance has been solicited and tendered
in the hour of danger, we ought to be allowed some influence
in the government of a country we have contributed to
uphold—some right to introduce such measures as may be
deemed necessary to its future welfare.
The Turks themselves, if they are ever to learn wisdom
from adversity, must be aware that all the victories they
have hitherto achieved over their adversaries the Russians,
in the present war, have been owing to the indefatigable
enterprise, daring, and military talents of the foreign officers
in their army.
In our last work on Turkey we entered more fully into
the state of the Turkish empire, and only repeat some of
these suggestions with a view of drawing the attention of the
intelligent reader to the present state of these interesting
provinces of Turkey, which taken as a whole for strength
of position and capabilities of defence by sea and land, may
be termed the Gibraltar of Eastern Europe. We have also
endeavoured to place in a prominent point of view their poli-
tical importance, and the danger that would result to civil
and religious freedom, industry and commerce, should coun-
tries So highly favoured by nature, through any unexpected
turn in the chapter of accidents, pass from the sceptre of the
race of Othman, to that of a power which up to the present
time has only conquered to destroy free institutions, which
she can neither appreciate nor tolerate, since if they once
take root among any of the states on her frontier, one of the
most fearful revolutions on record may burst forth among
her own millions of degraded serfs.
122 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
knowing this, and the perilous state of the Turkish empire,
we must not be influenced by the statements of fanciful
writers with respect to the weakness of Russia as a military
power; neither must we allow our sympathy for the cause
of the Turks to blind our judgment as to the probable result
of the struggle. Russia has been long bent upon mischief;
we may therefore be assured, and time will prove the correct-
ness of the conclusion, that the Turks have entered on one
of the most critical periods of their troubled history. In
a word, there is not the slightest chance of success for Turkey
in a protracted war with Russia, unless she receives the most
energetic assistance from France and England; neither can
there be any well-founded hope of her future welfare without
an entire change in her domestic administration. The Turks
must be taught that they are not the elect. They must also
learn that they have been slumbering while other nations
with less resources have been adding to their wealth and
power.
We have already alluded in a former chapter to the im-
portant positions the Christians occupy in the interior of the
country, as agriculturists, shepherds, and mountain haiducs;
and how seriously they might annoy the Turkish govern-
ment, as guerrillas, in the event of their being armed and
commanded by Russian officers. Such a calamity is by no
means improbable should the Russians succeed in establish-
ing themselves on the right bank of the Danube; the Turkish
army would then be in a critical position between two fires.
Besides, how easy would it be for Austria, should she assume
the offensive, or desire secretly to aid Russia, to supply the
revolutionary Christians with arms and ammunition from
her arsenals in Dalmatia, Croatia, and Hungarian-Servia—
provinces lying on their frontiers. In such an emergency,
how valueless to the Ottoman Porte would prove the naval
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 123
fleets of France and England; and even were these powers
so inclined, they could not march an army through the inte-
rior of a country which has neither roads nor bridges, and
which everywhere abounds with dense forests, frightful
gorges, and defiles,-where a mere handful of sturdy moun-
taineers would be sufficient to annihilate the best appointed
army.
We repeat, therefore, our firm belief that the destinies
of the Turkish empire, at least in this part of its dominions,
depend on the fidelity of the Christian subjects of the Sultan;
and when we remember the wrongs they have so long
endured from their Moslem rulers, can we wonder if they
should hail the Tzar, despot as he is, or any other Christian
adventurer, as their deliverer'ſ—the fruits of that absurd law
of the Koran which elevated one religious sect and degraded
the other to hopeless servitude; and until this and every
other enactment founded on Mahometan fanaticism, to the
prejudice of the Christian, is removed, the rule of the Sultan,
even if mighty Russia never existed, rests on a volcano.
Aware of this great defect in the legislative system of the
Ottoman Porte, the political and civil disabilities of its
Christian subjects, and knowing how slovenly the machinery
of the Turkish government is worked by those who direct
it, we have ever been apprehensive that the rule of the
Turks in Europe would be terminated by some sudden coup-
de-main, when an enemy so subtle and unscrupulous as
Russia was lying in wait to seize upon a territory she so
much coveted. Anticipating that this event would be ac-
complished in some such summary manner, a few years since,
when the question of the extradition of the political refugees
from Turkey, revealed to the world the weakness of the
Turkish empire, we made an appeal to our readers in a
painphlet, entitled “What is to be done with Turkey'?” and
124 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
although our views at the time were opposed by some, we
have at least the satisfaction to know that, our observations
have not been without effect, that the opinions we then
expressed, now coincide with those of the leading politicians
of France and England. The substance of the work was to
this effect, “That the 12,000,000 of Christians in European
Turkey should be formed into separate states, according to
their several nationalities, to be governed by their own laws,
and put in possession of all their rights, civil, religious, and
political—still however under the rule of the Sultan.” The
present crisis is now found to justify the carrying into effect
some such measure, which would call into existence a nume-
rous and enthusiastic people, who would be found prepared
and willing, in the event of invasion, to defend their country,
their laws, and institutions.
Had this been done, or some such scheme carried into
effect for the emancipation of the Christians, before the Tzar
had time to mature his wily ambitious projects with such
wonderful sagacity, the Turkish empire would not now be
trembling between Russia's might and Turkey's right. Still,
however defective Turkish legislation may be, particularly on
the score of religion, the government of the Sultan is far
preferable to that of the uncompromising despotism of the
Tzar. The Turks, even in the worst of times, never coun-
tenanced serfdom in their dominions; if they denied political
and civil rights to those that differed from them in creed,
they did not interfere with their personal freedom; at least
they were so far free that they might dispose of themselves
as they pleased, without incurring the penalty of being
seized like runaway slaves, half beaten to death, or, as the
case might be, sold to the highest bidder—as in Russia.
Indeed, we have every reason to believe that the majority
of the Christians in Turkey, however much they may detest
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 125
the rule of the Moslem, would not submit to the vexatious
despotism of the Tzar without a struggle. We say this the
more confidently, because, having lived among them, we
know the strong attachment they entertain towards their
own peculiar form of government—so patriarchal and repub-
lican in its tendencies—and which to a certain extent they
enjoy without molestation, wherever the mild rule of the
Sultan is administered by an enlightened, conscientious
Mussulman.
The Moldo-Wallachians, a hardy warlike race, are exceed-
ingly anti-Russian, and so indeed are the Greeks and the
Albanians; but it does not therefore follow that they may
not make a movement on their own account in the event of
the Turks experiencing a succession of defeats; and We
know that Russia never undertakes any enterprise without
providing her agents with the means of corruption. ***
Since the insurrectionary movement of 1848 in Moldo-
Wallachia, and the openly declared intention of the liberal
party to appropriate to the wants of the state the enormous
landed estates belonging to the convents and monasteries,
the clergy have become much more inclined to support the
ascendency of despotic Russia. This can be no matter of
surprise when it is considered that they are the proprietors
of not less than one-third of the land of the whole princi-
palities, together with the peasants who live on it. Several
of the rich Boyards, in their dread of the liberal party gain-
ing the ascendency, have also become the zealous partizans
of Russia. On the other hand, the great bulk of the popu-
lation, aware of what their fate would be if they became the
serfs of Russia, look up to the Turk, since he has announced
himself the champion of civil and religious liberty, as their
deliverer; and now that the sufferings of the peasants, from
the continued military occupation of the country by Russia,
126 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
have become past all endurance, it is impossible to say what
a day may not bring forth, should the liberals succeed in
arousing them to arms in favour of the Porte. Truly, of all
the wonders of a wonderful age, this is not the least, that
a Christian in the nineteenth century should look up to a
Mahometan as his deliverer from the serfdom and tyranny
of a Christian prince. Everything considered, it is by no
means improbable that this may be the intention of Omar
Pacha and the other Polish and Hungarian officers in the
service of the Sultan. And when we remember the volcanic
state of Austria—the inflammable materials everywhere ex-
isting in that unhappy empire—a rising of the democrats in
Moldo-Wallachia would soon extend to Hungary—to the
Illyrian-Slavonians, to Poland and Italy; when we should
See again the race of Othman the terror of all the intolerant
priests and self-willed despots of Europe. And it is very
likely, if all other expedients fail, that the Turks, ruled as
they now are by those refugee generals, may adopt this plan
as a last resource to prevent their empire from being annexed
to that of their hereditary enemies the Russians. At all
events, if Russia, the great Goliah of despotic rule, falls—
supported as the Turks now are by the only two liberal
governments in the old world—the despotic form of govern-
ment will have met with a check from which it can never
I'êCOWeſ.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 127
CHAPTER X.
Moldo-Wallachia ºn a Commercial point of view—Its Exports—Productions—
Government established by Russia—Faults in its Administration—Wenality of
its Agents—The Hospodars—Prince Bibesco Sturbey of Wallachia–Prince
Gregory Ghika of Moldavia—Their Characters—Great Fertility of Moldo-
Wallachia—Desolate appearance of the Country—Facilities and Advantages for
Colonization—Tour from Galatz to Jassy–Description of Jassy–Roads in Moſ-
davia—Posting—Caught in a Snow Storm—A Nocturnal Battle–Arriva! at
Boyana—The Valley of the Pruth—Tzarnowitz—Observations on the Austrian
JBuckowina.
IN our remarks on the political and social state of the
Turkish empire we must not forget our commercial readers.
We shall, therefore, before we take our leave of Moldavia
and Wallachia, devote a chapter to the commercial advan-
tages that these interesting countries open to British indus-
try—countries which, the variety of their productions, their
admirable situation, and the great fertility of their soil, must
elevate Sooner or later to an important position among the
minor states of Europe. We may also add in their favour,
that they present great facilities of access, either by railroad
or steam navigation, to the inhabitants of the crowded cities
of Central and Western Europe. It is our own fault, there-
fore, if we do not impart to them something of the active
industrial spirit of the West; for every amelioration in the
social condition of a state, every advance towards wealth and
intelligence, tends to multiply its wants and increase its com-
merce, and furnishes us with an additional ally in the great
work of civilization.
128 * TURKEY, RUSSIA,
We have said that the population of Moldo-Wallachia is
about 4,000,000, which, when we take into consideration the
great fertility of the country, is about one-fourth the number
of the inhabitants we meet with in the same extent of terri-
tory in Western Europe.
The exports consist principally of corn, wool, tallow, lin-
seed, hemp, honey, Wax, tobacco, ox-hides, sheep, goat, and
hare-skins, Salt, meat, potass, Soda, leeches, and cheese.
Braila, in Wallachia, and Galatz, in Moldavia, both situated
on the Danube, are well adapted for ports, as ships of 250
tons burden can enter them with the greatest facility; and
being protected by islands, the space between the towns offers
a safe harbour for vessels during winter, since they are not
liable to come in collision with the large masses of ice that
are carried down the river in spring. Navigation, however,
is generally interrupted by the frost for two or three months,
but rarely during a longer period.
The custom-house duty is about three per cent. ; the
money is the same as in Turkey—paras and piastres; the
ducat at Galatz, when we were there, was worth thirty-nine
piastres, and at Bucharest and Brailow thirty-one and a half.
It is usual for the foreign merchant in his trading trans-
actions with the natives to make contracts with them before
the tribunals of commerce established at Galatz and Brailow,
and with foreigners settled in the country in presence of their
respective consuls. If any difference arises, it would be
advisable for the foreign merchant to come to an amicable
arrangement if, possible, as there are several courts of appeal,
as in Russia, and the law processes are both protracted and
expensive. |
Corn at present forms the principal article of export. The
quality of the wheat is equal to that sold at Odessa. Maize
is of the same species as that cultivated in Persia. The barley
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 129
and Oats are not equal to those of Russia, but this is said to
arise from the want of care and attention to weeding on the
part of the agriculturist.
A very considerable improvement, however, has taken place
in the cultivation of these articles of late years, because corn
of every description can be grown in these provinces capable
of bearing a comparison with that of any other country, as
it is impossible to surpass the fertility of the soil.
Wool is the product next in importance, which finds its
way chiefly to Austria—the same may be said of tallow; how-
ever the exportation of these articles to France and England
is on the increase, and would be still greater were it not for
the continued military occupation of the country by Russia,
and the obstacles that power is continually throwing in the
way of the navigation of the mouth of the Danube, and
thus endeavouring to cut off all communication with the
Black Sea.
Hemp and linseed thrive everywhere, and are considered
superior to the same articles purchased at Odessa. Honey
and wax also form important articles of commerce; the latter
is considered the finest in Europe, particularly that produced
on the high lands of Moldavia, it is very much prized
by the Turks, who use it as a perfume. The tobacco, similar
to the Hungarian, is usually bought up by the Greeks to be
manufactured into cigars.
The greater part of the ox and goat hides find a sale in
Austria, but those of sheep, being used by the peasants as
clothing, are not likely to be a profitable speculation to the
merchant, but he may purchase almost any quantity of hare
and rabbit skins.
The exports in potass and soda are still inconsiderable, and
cannot be had unless a contract is previously made. Should
leeches, however, be desired by the trader, he can have them
E.
130 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
in any quantity; and cheese, of which there is various kinds,
supplies the markets of the Levant. The culture of the vine
is much neglected, still the wine made in Moldavia has a high
character, and finds a ready sale at Odessa and all the Russian
ports on the Black Sea.
When we take into consideration that the whole of these
native products are exchanged for foreign merchandise, how
lucrative must be the commerce -
Like every other people ignorant of any refined or intel-
lectual enjoyments, the rich boyards and trading classes
indulge in great extravagance of dress; consequently the rich
furs of Russia, the finest stuffs and muslims, embroideries of
silver and gold, the most showy colours in satins, silks, vel-
vets, and printed calicoes, find a ready sale, together with
jewels, pearls, watches, and trimkets. The demand for fine
Woollen cloths and linen is also very great ; to which we may
add iron wares, coffee, tea, sugar, and various other articles.
Since Russia assumed the Protectorate of these princi-
palities, she has been gradually introducing her own vexatious
systems of administration, and in many instances demoraliza-
tion. To each district, as in Russia, she has appointed an
Ispravnick—a superior magistrate, with numerous Subalterns
attached to his office, whose duty it is to keep the peace,
enforce the orders of the executive, collect the taxes, and
investigate matters relating to criminal and civil cases.
This would be all very well were it not for the oppression
hese petty tyrants exercise over the people: taking their cue
from the employés in Russia, they resort to the same species
of bribery and corruption to support a station not justified
by the mediocre salary allowed them by the government.
The Superior courts of justice are also placed on the same
footing as those of Russia, and, as in them, every step made
to advance the suit must be purchased by fees and bribes,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 131
which not unfrequently ruins both litigants, or enables the
man who can offer the judge the highest bribe to obtain
a favourable verdict, no matter whether it is consonant with
justice or not. - -
It is by this means that Russia demoralizes every people
over whom she acquires an ascendency, and she is enabled
to carry out her nefarious schemes by the utter want of prin-
ciple in too many of her civil and military officers, who are
often nothing better than clever adventurers—mere merce-
naries, without either honour or patriotism. When we visited
these principalities, the Russian Consul Budberg, and his
coadjutor, Halehinsky—the one a German, and the other
a Pole, the faithful and long-tried agents of the Tzar, com-
pletely ruled these countries, Prince Stirbey, of Wallachia,
and Prince Ghika, of Moldavia, retaining nothing more than
the title of Hospodar. \ f
The former owes his elevation to the rank of Hospodar to
the revolution of 1848, when he succeeded his brother
George. The family of the Stirbeys are by no means popular
in Wallachia, not so much on account of their obscure origin,
as their entire subserviency to the court of St. Peters-
burg, and the low intrigues through which they arrived at
power.
The revolution of 1848 also proved the means of elevating
the latter to the dignity of Hospodar, when he succeeded
Michael Stourdza. The Ghikas, who trace their genealogy as
far back as the ancient princes of Dacia, are highly popular.
During the brief reign of the representative of this family,
Gregory Ghika, he effected many important reforms, parti-
cularly by establishing schools, with the view of reviving the
spirit of the ancient Roumaic-Dacian nationality, but he was
constantly thwarted by the priests and the Russian party,
who soon came to the conclusion, if the Dacian prince
132 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
were allowed to continue his work of regeneration, there
would be an end of the influence both of the priest and
the Tzar.
The whole of Wallachia, particularly in the vast plain ex-
tending from the banks of the Danube to the base of the
Karpathians, is exceedingly fertile, and well adapted for the
production of every species of grain and fruit found in
such a latitude ; the grape, which we find here and there
adorning the Sunny slopes of the hills, would produce an
excellent wine, were the peasants better skilled in the art
of making it. Whether it is owing to the insecure tenure
upon which wealth is held in these countries, if a man be so
fortunate as to acquire it, or to the indolence of the people,
they do not trouble themselves to raise more of any crop
than is requisite for their own use—that is to say, as much
as will serve to realize a sufficient sum for the payment of
the rent and taxes, which are not oppressive.
According to the late regulations of the government of
these principalities, each head of a family surrenders a tenth
of the produce in kind to the landed proprietor, in addition
to which he is bound to give him twelve days' labour in the
year, or pay him a sum of thirty-six piastres. For this con-
sideration he is allowed to cultivate as much land as he feels
disposed.
In some districts bordering on the Danube there are tracts
of land as large as a German kingdom entirely devoted to
grazing, without a single habitation, Save the hut of the shep-
herd. In the vicinity of the mountains are to be found some
of the finest forests in Europe of oak and beech, intermingled
with the wild pear, the apple, and the cherry, the maple, the
senna, and the yew, some of them of the most prodigious
size, forming together a tangled mass, heré overthrown by
the tempest, there torn up by the rushing torrent, presenting
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 133
to the traveller a scene as solitary and wild as if he was wan-
dering in some unknown region of Australia.
What a misfortune is it to Western Europe that two
powers so opposed to the progress and enlightenment of the
world as Russia and Turkey, should have acquired the do-
minion over this, as well as some of the finest countries in
our hemisphere ! What avails their fertility, their noble
rivers, their seas and harbours, so long as they command
them " If the insatiable ambition and scientific despotism of
the one have steadily opposed the progress of civilization, the
other has proved equally hostile by its indolent barbarism,
its exclusiveness and fanaticism; hence these fair countries
have been of little value to the enterprising and energetic
inhabitants of the West, and the scanty population that now
remain have become so debased from centuries of slavery, and
so wanting in general intelligence, that before we can hope to
derive any advantage from commercial intercourse with them,
colonization must be resorted to as an indispensable necessity,
and that from lands whose peoples have attained a high Scale
of civilization.
Some years ago, the Government of Moldo-Wallachia pro-
mulgated the réglement organique, allowing foreigners to
become naturalized and purchase land, which undoubtedly
offered strong temptations to strangers to settle in a country
where land might be had at nearly the same price as in the
back settlements of America. But what man from the
civilized West would seek a home in a country of which
Russia is a protector'ſ or in Turkey, so long as her legislature
persists in denying to a Christian political and Social rights?
It is, therefore, much to be hoped, in any arrangement that
may be made by the belligerents, the Western powers will
See the expediency of placing the inhabitants of these coun-
tries at least in a position to be able to maintain their
134 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
independence. What the people themselves have long de-
sired is, that the two principalities should be united under
one of their native princes of the Ghika family; when they
say that their numbers, union, and geographical positions,
would enable them to form a barrier sufficiently formidable
to repel any future aggression of Russia, at least till their
suzerain the Sultan could send troops to their assistance. If
this were done, it is more than probable that multitudes of
industrious men, of every trade and calling, from the civilized
West, would settle in countries offering so many advantages.
The traveller who confines his tour in Moldavia and Wal-
lachia to a steamboat voyage down the Danube, and sees
apparently an interminable plain, without a hillock or even
a pebble to remove the monotony of the view, can have no
idea of the beautiful country that lies beyond it, shelving up
in a succession of bold, picturesque hills to the highest
summit of the Karpathian mountains, inhabited by a very
different class of peasants from their unhappy brethren of the
plain, so long the victims of tyranny and oppression.
Some years ago, on our homeward tour from the East, we
passed through Upper Moldavia and the Buckowina; and,
although the journey was made at the commencement of
winter, when the trees had lost their foliage, and the Snow
lay thick on the hills and mountains, we could not but ad-
mire the romantic beauty of a country alternating in lake
and river, forest, glen, defile, and mountain, with now and
then a beautiful valley, offering the most admirable sites for
towns and villages, and all the various industrial establish-
ments of a civilized community.
As in Russia, the whole charge of posting to the place of
destination is paid on starting, for which a written acknow-
ledgment is given by the Ispravnik of the district to the
traveller, and which also empowers him to press into his
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 135
service the horses of the first peasant he meets, should it be
deemed necessary. He can likewise, by paying for it, secure
the Services of a relay of mounted pandours to guard him on
his way, if he apprehends danger; and situated as this dis-
trict of Moldavia is, on the frontier of Russia, and Austrian
Transylvania, and the Buckowina, thereby affording every
facility for the escape of a highway robber, the precaution is
by no means superfluous.
The open Moldavian car we selected for our conveyance at
least afforded the opportunity of seeing to advantage the
Surrounding country. Cold it was; but to a man whose
veins were still fevered with the fire of Asia, this was rather
agreeable than otherwise. Besides, we had purchased at
Galatz a heap of well-tanned sheep-skins with the wool on,
sufficiently warm to protect us from the effects of a Siberian
winter. -
On leaving Galatz and the monotonous plains of the
Danube, we entered a beautiful undulating country, which
continued to improve as we approached Jassy, the capital of
Moldavia; and few towns appear to greater advantage when
seen at a distance than the once far-famed Jassiorum Muni-
cipium. The environs with their extensive gardens, have a
most picturesque effect; while the town, being partly situated
on a rising eminence, and partly lying in a pleasant valley,
with its extensive suburbs scattered about on the surround-
ing heights, and mingling with the pretty forms of domes and
spires, impress the traveller with the belief that he is about
to enter a rich and populous city. But, alas ! whatever Jassy
might have been in the days of the ancient Romans, it is now.
reduced to the level of all the other wretched towns and cities
we have seen in the Turkish empire.
The streets are still unpaved, except one or two of the
principal ones, and these are merely boarded. Still a wooden
I 36 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
pavement, if kept in good repair, possesses some advantages:
carriages roll over it with great rapidity, and it certainly
adds very much to the comfort of an invalid; but here, a
channel of dirty water runs underneath, that is never
cleansed except by a shower of rain, and consequently proves
very deleterious to the health of the inhabitants; for the air
is poisoned by a miasma which generates those low fevers and
agues that prevail in Jassy, Bucharest, and, indeed, all the
large towns, in a greater or less degree, throughout the year.
There are, however, some signs of improvement at Jassy,
since we see here and there an elegant mansion recently
erected, and others in the hands of the builder. We can
also admire the pretty palace of the reigning prince, and that
belonging to the real sovereign, the Russian Consul; but as
these stately structures are in juxtaposition with the hut of
a tallow-chandler, or that of a dealer in old clothes, the in-
congruous picture reminds the beholder that he sees civiliza-
tion struggling with barbarism, which is the real character of
all these countries, and their towns and cities, on the Lower
Danube, so long devastated by wars between the horde of
Othman and the horde of Muscovy. It is, however, in con-
templation () to pave the town; and roads are actually being
‘made in the environs, which are intended to form a network
throughout the entire principality. Then the little army,
officered by Russians, and drilled according to the most
approved system of that great disciplinarian, the Tzar of all
the Russias, reminds the traveller that they are only waiting
to be joined by their companions in arms at a more conve-
nient SeaSon.
Altogether, Jassy offers but little, to interest a stranger
beyond a glance at its motley inhabitants. There are Boyards
and Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Slavonians, and Jews, to be
seen, all adhering as strictly to their own language and
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 137
peculiar costume, as if their very existence depended upon the
cut and form of their garments. Each of these nationalities
also occupies a separate district in the town. The Jews are
so numerous as to form about a third of the whole popu-
lation, rather good-looking than otherwise, more especially
the women, whose appearance was much improved by their
half oriental dress. The velvet tiara, set with pearls and
precious stones, is said to be of the same form as that worn
by the court beauties in the days of King Solomon; which
proves that the fair daughters of Israel in those days
were so far coquettish as to invent a mode of head-dress
well adapted to their peculiar style of beauty, as it certainly
makes a pretty face look still more captivating; and I was
assured by my Jew banker, whose guest I was during my

138 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
stay at Jassy, that one of these head-dresses is not unfrer
quently worth five hundred pounds sterling, and descends as
an heir-loom in the family. Nay, added my informant, it is
not improbable that one of these costly coronets was made
by the court. jeweller of the wisest of monarchs . In addi-
tion to this, they wear on state occasions, such as a marriage
feast, &c., a gold lace stomacher, also set with pearls and
precious stones; to say nothing of necklaces, bracelets, and
rings. -
These poor people, the Jews, to whose industry and enter-
prise as merchants, traders, and shopkeepers, the state is
indebted for a great part of its revenue, and the country for
whatever little commerce still remains, occasionally suffer
severely from the fanaticism of the inhabitants, who are
credulous enough to believe the most absurd reports that
can be conceived; and nothing is too wicked, no crime too
revolting, to be attributed to the descendants of the people
who crucified the Saviour. Still, the Jews of these countries,
however averse they are in general to fighting, do not submit
to be led like sheep to the slaughter; they are always pre-
pared, if necessary, to repel force by force. Unhappily, these
contests with the Christians of the Greek Church, both here
and in Russia, are too frequent and Sanguinary; and, singular
- enough, their rallying cry, Gewalt / Gewalt 1 is in the German
language; and when this is heard, the whole Hebrew popu-
lation, men, women, and children, arm themselves with some
weapon of defence, and rush to the scene of action.
On leaving Jassy, the frost having set in with increased
severity, we rolled onward with great rapidity, as if our
postilion was running a race against time; and although the
horses were Small, they went at the rate of fifteen wersts an
hour. While we remained within a few miles of the town,
cultivated fields, villages and hamlets, meat gardens and vine-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 139
yards, alternately met the view; but these pleasing objects
once past, there was the same want of population we before
observed, and the country increased in solitary wildness when
we entered the mountain district.
At one time our route lay through a dense forest, then
along the banks of a charming lake; now we wound round a
steep precipice, then plunged into a dark and dismal abyss,
to emerge into a beautiful valley, watered with the meander-
ing stream or rushing torrent, given by the bountiful hand
of nature to fertilize the soil.
What might not be done here, if this highly favoured
country were occupied by a colony of our scientific husband-
men from Western Europe 1 Every one of these sunny slopes
would then be laid out in vineyards; the valley, in corn-
fields, pastures, and meadows; and the hills and mountains
stripped of their impenetrable forests, to make way for nu-
merous herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. Still, the desolate
aspect of the country does not prevent many a Boyard from
adding considerably to his revenue by the sale of leeches,
which are found in some of the rivers and marshes of this
mountain district.
Hitherto our journey had been most prosperous, till arriv-
ing at the vast forest that separates Moldavia from the
Buckowina, we were overtaken by one of those sudden snow
storms so fatal to the traveller in this wild inhospitable dis-
trict. Happily our postilion, prognosticating from the lower-
ing aspect of the heavens the danger that threatened us,
galloped madly forward to a ruined chalet, the usual resting-
place of such caravans as journey in this direction.
On arriving at our place of refuge, we found it to be
a miserable wooden hut, surrounded by a dilapidated paling,
filled with travellers, their packs, horses, and a flock of sheep;
and as continuing our route to Boyana, the next post-station,
140 * TURKEY, RUSSIA,
was completely out of the question, we made preparations to
pass the night. Our poor horses being badly off for shelter,
our first care was to repair the shed with a quantity of loose
timber, in which operation we were aided by the snow when
making a roof, for it froze as fast as it fell.
With respect to provender for man and beast, we had taken
good care to provide an ample supply in case of an accident,
and as the other travellers felt inclined to be merry, a fat
sheep was selected and roasted for the occasion; we were
moreover favoured by a change in the weather, for the night
became clear and bright, though it still continued to freeze
hard.
The reader must now suppose we had supped, and Smoked
the tehibouque, but, before retiring to rest, we took precau-
tions, lest any stray wolf should pay us a visit during the
night,-and to guard against this mishap, it was determined
that our whole party should in turn mount guard, and re-
plenish the blazing fire we had made in the centre of the
enclosure, intended for the twofold purpose of keeping our
cattle warm, and scaring away any dangerous intruder.
Things went on very well till about the middle of the night,
when we were awoke from the land of dreams by the dis-
charge of fire-arms, and, lo l our young pandour rushed into
the hut, exclaiming he had fired at a wolf and wounded him,
and that the animal fled howling back to the forest.
“Rash, foolish boy!” cried one of our fellow-travellers,
jumping up from his lair of sheep-skins, “we shall have the
whole hungry pack down upon us in less than half an hour,
for they will devour him, and then track his blood to the
place where he was wounded.” Unfortunately for our slum-
bers the old man was right, and now we had to make pre-
parations as quickly as possible for the encounter.
We have already said that our night-quarters was a
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 141
miserable hut, a few feet from the ground; consequently our
first object was to barricade it with pieces of wood, so as to
render it, in case of need, sufficiently strong to resist any
attack that might be made upon it by the wolves; but our
poor horses and the flock of sheep in the open shed were ex-
posed to certain destruction, and our next care was to take
measures for their defence.
On inspecting our fortress, we found several breaches had
been made in the paling of the enclosure; these we filled up
with piles of wood, and then placed our little garrison as
sentinels at different points, to beat back our enemies should
they attempt to climb over the enclosure. Our party con-
sisted of seven; a butcher and his help, the owner of the
flock of sheep, from Tchernowitz; two caravan drivers with
their packs of wool, on their way to Jassy; the postilion,
the pandour, and ourselves. As to weapons of defence, our
fellow-travellers had none other than the long knife and light
hatchet they carried in their belt; this weremedied by con-
verting pieces of wood into ponderous clubs. As for the
pandour and ourselves, we were armed to the teeth, with
plenty of ammunition at hand if necessary.
Half-an-hour or more had probably elapsed, when we first
perceived the enemy, in greater force than we considered
agreeable, stealthily marching around the glare of the im-
mense fire we kept blazing in the centre of the enclosure, as if
debating whether it would be prudent to cross the gleaming
boundary.
At length a powerful fellow made his appearance, probably
the commander-in-chief, who, after reconnoitering our posi-
tion, being no doubt strongly tempted by bleating sheep and
neighing horses—the unerring instinct of the poor animals
telling them that danger was near—dashed boldly forward,
followed by the whole pack, and with a bound attempted to
142 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
clear the paling. Stout hearts and strong clubs, however,
soon drove them back, laying many sprawling on the ground:
we reserved our fire, in obedience to the advice of our captain,
the old shepherd, who recommended us not to use our fire-
arms unless an opportunity should be afforded of inflicting
certain death, in order that none might escape again to the
forest, and bring back a reinforcement.
- ſº
º ſº
- º
º º
º
º
Noctun NAL BATTLE WITH WOLVES.
Our ferocious assailants, not liking the blows from our
clubs, retreated, and apparently, after holding a consultation,
it was resolved to attack the enclosure in different directions,
and in some places where it was weak two or three succeeded
in climbing over the fence, when they were instantly dis-
patched by our fire-arms and the long knives and hatchets of
our fellow combatants, when we hurled them over the fence

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 143
to be devoured by their famishing comrades beneath. The
fate of our first invaders, however, did not deter others from
following their example, and in the morning we counted the
skeletons of eight or nine who had become the victims of
their temerity.
Happily the dawn of day caused our unwelcome visitors to
return to their woods, leaving us at liberty to pursue our
ourney, and with mutual congratulations for our providential
escape our party separated. The day was fine, the Snow as
hard as a bed of ice, and after a drive of a couple of hours
we came to the long-wished-for Boyana. -
The Austrian Buckowina is here separated from Moldavia
by a deep narrow river, across which is thrown a wooden
bridge, terminating in a ponderous gate, upon which is
blazoned the imperial eagle, with two necks; and if a stranger
were to judge of the reception he was likely to meet with
from the ferocious countenance of the royal bird that here
protects the frontier, he would pause before he ventured to
enter a territory so fiercely guarded. After passing the
ordeal of the passport-bureau, the custom-house, and the
necessary fumigation that every traveller is obliged to undergo
who arrives in Austria from the land of the infidel, we were
allowed to dispose of ourselves as we pleased, and the noc-
turnal combat with the wolves having by this time become
known through the loquacity of our postilion and pandour,
we were invited to dine with the officers of the detachment
quartered here, among whom we had the pleasure of finding
a countryman, Lieutenant Isaacson.
Our route from Boyana lay for the most part through the
valley of the Pruth. The road on entering the Buckowina
is one of the best that could be found in any country; and
din a few hours we arrived at the capital, Tchernowitz, to us
a perfect Oasis in the waste, so long had we been accustomed
f
144 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
to the narrow streets with their wooden huts in Turkey, and
the equally straggling ill-planned towns of South Russia.
In truth, we do not often find a prettier town than Tcher-
nowitz;-the buildings are nearly all of recent erection, the
streets are just the right breadth, and as most of the houses
have a little garden and vineyard attached to them, this
appendage must impart during summer a delightfully rural
character to the town. The situation also is much in its
favour, being prettily placed on a rising hill overhanging the
Pruth, surrounded by agricultural fields and high lands well
covered with wood. In addition to all these advantages,
German cleanliness is everywhere the presiding deity; and
seeing all this, and comparing it with what we had seen in
Russia and Turkey, we could not help wishing most heartily
that the Teutonic races were more inclined to conquest, for
wherever they penetrate, whether as conquerors or colonists,
they carry improvement with them, by introducing industry,
cleanliness, and order.
Previous to the year 1777 the Buckowina formed part of
the principality of Moldavia, since which time it has been
incorporated with the kingdom of Galicia. The inhabitants,
with the exception of a few hundred German colonists, are
the same race as those of Moldo-Wallachia, speak a dialect of
the same language, and are quite as primitive in their habits
and manners. Still, even among these, the reclaiming hand
of the German ruler is everywhere visible in the neatness of
their villages, and the tidiness you perceive about their huts
and agricultural fields. g •
Taken altogether, the Buckowina, broken up as it is into
valleys and hills, rising in a gradual elevation to Mount Lue-
zina, one of the highest summits of the Karpathians, is a very
charming province. The soil is in general fertile, and many
of the sunny slopes produce a very tolerable wine; but the
THE BLACK SEA AND CIRCASSIA. 145
country is still very thinly populated, and many of the
districts in the interior remain in a state of nature. In addi-
tion to the fertility of the soil, the Buckowinian mountains are
rich in minerals; the silver and lead mines at Kirli-baba,
and also the copper mines of Passoritza, are said to be ex-
tremely productive. -
146 TURREY, RUSSIA,
CHAPTER XI.
\
Steam-boat voyage from Galaiz to Constantinople—The Della of the Danube—
Cossack bivouac-Insalubrity of the Delta—Observations upon the Navigation
of the Black Sea—Warna—Sizopoli—Thracian Bosphorus—Annual dimimuţion
of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azow—Causes—Buyukderé—Therapia—A
coast view of Constantinople.
AFTER this slight sketch of Upper Moldavia and the Karpa-
thian districts of the Buckowina, we shall return to Galatz,
and, in a steam-boat voyage, convey the reader with us to
Constantinople. º
On arriving at the Pruth, which forms the boundary
between Besserabia and Moldavia, we perceive the little
town of Reni; here the Russian dominions commence; a
little lower down is Kartal, nearly opposite the Turkish for-
tress Isaktscha—a fatal spot in the annals of the Turkish
wars, for it was here the Russians were accustomed to cross
the Danube when they had decided upon carrying fire and
sword into the land of the infidel.
On, passing the great lake of Julburg, we catch a glimpse
of the ill-fated Ismail, the scene of a most brilliant feat of
arms of General Suwarrow. It is much to be regretted that
the brave but barbarous Cossack Sullied his laurels by one of
the most cruel massacres of an unoffending population on
record.
Previous to this wholesale destruction, Ismail ranked
among the most beautiful and commercial towns in the East
of Europe, adorned with elegant palaces, charming gardens,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 147
and mosques, and containing a population of 30,000. On
passing the ruins of Ismail the Delta of the Danube com-
mences, where there is nothing to be seen save a wide-spread
wilderness; a connecting line of Cossack guard-houses alone
relieving its monotony.
COSSACK GUARD-110 USE.
What a melancholy fate is reserved for these poor victims
to the military despotism of Russia, exposed as they are to
the miasma of one of the most unhealthy districts in Europe,
besides being constantly tormented with clouds of mosquitoes
and other poisonous insects! The smoke from the immense
fires they keep here and there burning might relieve them
from this enemy; but it was easy to perceive in the swollen
countenances of those who approached our steamer, when we
stopped at one of their little military stations for a few

148 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
minutes, that the poisoned air had already destroyed their
health, never to be completely regained during life.
We were ourselves sufficiently annoyed by the mosquitoes
and hornet flies; but as we rushed forward with the aid of
steam, and a current running at the rate of -20,000 feet an
hour, this was the only inconvenience we suffered; and it
was with no little Satisfaction we hailed the distant prospect
of the Black Sea, if for nothing else than a deliverance from
our insect tormentors.
As usual we were hailed at the mouth of the Danube by
a Russian officer of the quarantine establishment, who, finding
our papers perfectly correct, allowed us to pass the Russian
guard-house, and without any further molestation we entered
the Black Sea. $
This vast expanse of water, now become of the most vital
importance to the whole commercial and political world, is
about 203 leagues in length, and its greatest breadth on the
meridian of 31° East, 110 leagues. The Turks call it Kara-
denghis; and the Russians, Tchernemor (Black Sea). This
appellation was given to it by the ancient Greeks and
Romans, in consequence of the frequent occurrence of thick
black fogs, caused by the surrounding mountains intercepting
the vapours when they arise from its surface. Owing to the
prodigious quantity of fresh water poured into it from its
numerous tributaries, the water is brackish rather than Salt ;
hence it freezes with a moderate degree of cold, and in severe
winters the whole of the northern coast, more particularly
near Odessa, presents a vast field of ice. .
The navigation of the Black Sea, especially during the
early months of summer, is attended with some inconve-
nience to small sailing vessels, on account of its being con-
tinually fed by some of the largest rivers in Europe, which
produce violent currents; that caused by the Danube was
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 149
now most observable, our steamer being hurried forward
with extreme velocity; while the noble stream which had so
long borne us continued to preserve its yellow turbid charac-
ter for an immense distance, as it rolled through the clear
dark blue waters of the sea. The dangers of these currents
to an ill-built vessel are still further increased when they are
met by an opposing wind, which produces an angry, short
chopping sea.
It may also be observed, that when a vessel during a strong
gale is unable to lie-to, or obliged to run before the wind, or,
through the ignorance of a commander finds it impossible
to make a port, she is in considerable danger of being
wrecked; for though the sea itself presents no object to
jeopardize her safety—there being neither shoals, rocks, nor
islands, with the exception of Serpents' Island, near Odessa—
yet the high rocky shore, particularly on the coast of the
Crimea and Circassia, offers an aspect full of peril. The
lofty heights of the Caucasian Alps also form another source
of danger to the mariner, by attracting thunder-storms,
which occasionally rage here with the utmost violence; often
when there is no presage of their approach, as we found to
our cost during three separate voyages we made to that
perilous coast—having each time very narrowly escaped
shipwreck. ſ
Our steamer remained about an hour at Warna, so well
known for the gallant defence made by its garrison during
the Turkish war in 1828-29, and also for the treachery of its
governor Useff Pacha, who delivered it up to the Russians
for a stipulated sum ; and although the traitor was con-
demned to death by the laws of his country, the poor Sultan,
at the command of the Tzar Nicholas, was forced not only
to pardon, but invest him with the pachalik of Belgrade:—so
much for Russian morality and Turkish independence!
150 -- TURKEY, RUSSIA,
On leaving Warna, the coast of the Black Sea became
highly interesting. The great ridge of the Balkan mountains
was already distinctly developed on the distant horizon; and
the shelving hills, diversified by valleys, forests, bays, and pro-
montories, formed a variety of the most beautiful landscapes.
We next passed Burgaz and Sizopoli, the ancient Apollonia.
This town has a most commodious harbour; and being the
only one that really offers a safe and convenient anchorage on
the whole line of coast from the mouth of the Danube to
the Bosphorus, any other people than the Turks would have
rendered it long ago a rendezvous for their naval force in
this part of the Black Sea. It is situated on a small penin-
Sula, and, judging from the ruins of a wall, was at one time
fortified. Varna, it is true, from being built at the con-
fluence of several small rivers, or rather an extensive marsh,
has decidedly an advantageous position, and, if properly for-
tified and well defended, might prove a strong bulwark
against an invasion of the Russians; but the bay does not
offer a safe anchorage for large vessels. #
At Sizopoli we became distinctly sensible of the current of
the Bosphorus, which is computed to run at the rate of four
miles an hour; and as its course is from the north to the
South, it materially facilitates an invasion of Constantinople
by Russia, should she at any time choose to take advantage
of wind and current; the temptation is still greater when we
remember that its whole length does not exceed twenty
English miles, and might be traversed in little more than an
hour by a fleet of steam-boats.
The current continued to increase in force on passing
Ignada; and at length we entered this far-famed strait. It
is impossible to come to any other conclusion on viewing
this breach in the Thracian mountains, than that it was
formed by Some dreadful convulsion of nature. Indeed,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 151
traces of the volcanic action are still visible that rent them,
and formed the channel through which the waters of the
Black Sea were conducted into the Mediterranean, inun-
dating Thrace, and thus forming the islands of the Grecian
Archipelago—whose forms, rising abruptly towards the South
and sloping to the north, sufficiently attest the powerful
action of an invading flood from that quarter. Without
altogether relying upon the equivocal legends of the Argo-
nauts—who tell us that their chief, Orpheus, actually sailed
from the Euxine to the Baltic, being then one vast ocean—
Diodorus, Siculus mentions that even in his day the tradition
of the inundation was preserved by the inhabitants of Thrace
and the islands of the Archipelago. Again, we have only to
look at the rivers that empty their waters into the Black
Sea, to feel convinced that they are annually diminishing in
volume. That the Mediterranean is considerably lower than
the Black Sea, is a matter of fact proved by the prodigious
mass of water that is continually flowing into it through the
Thracian Bosphorus.
We have abundant proofs of the extraordinary changes
that have taken place in the physical conformation of all
those countries in the neighbourhood of the Black Sea and
the Baltic, and which still continue, since that great irrup-
tion. Before this time the Crimea was an island; even now
the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azow annually
experience a certain diminution, particularly the latter, since
we find ships that only a few years ago sailed to Taganrog
and the mouths of the Don, are now unable to approach
either one or the other. This is more particularly observable
during the prevalence of east winds, when the waters retire,
leaving a passage of dry land to a distance of nearly eight
leagues, which the inhabitants of Taganrog take advantage
of, and pass over to the opposite coast.
T 52 - - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
With these facts before us, which every traveller can wit-
ness who visits these countries as we have done, perhaps it
would not be hazarding a vain conjecture to admit the possi-
bility, that at some future period both the Black Sea and the
Sea of Azow will become successively a series of marsh lands,
and finally fit for cultivation. {
On the other hand, if the waters of these seas were ever
again to rise to their former level, and of which we see traces
in the strata of marine shells found in these countries, par-
ticularly in Besserabia, the Crimea, on the Lower Danube,
Poland, and great part of South Russia, we should then
behold the Black Sea united with the Baltic.
A similar stratum as that which extends from the Black
Sea and the Sea of Azow to the Baltic, may be distinctly
traced to the Caspian Sea and the Lake of Aral, and throughout
the whole of the vast plain of Eastern Tartary; hence we may
conclude that this immense district was at One time an Ocean.
Let a traveller come from whatever country he may, east,
west, north, or south, and he is bewildered with admira-
tion the moment he first sees the Thracian Bosphorus and
its emchanting scenery. There is an airiness, a lightness,
and a gaiety in every object he beholds, whether it be the
fairy-like palace, and the kiosk on its banks, or the light caik
that skims the water. He has also the Swelling dome of the
mosque, and its slender white minaret, in their most graceful
forms, here rising up in the midst of hanging gardens,
blooming with fruit-trees, olives, and vineyards; and there
mingling with the dark groves of the plane-tree and cypress.
In short, neither artist nor writer can do justice to the witch-
ery of the smiling banks of the Thracian Bosphorus; it is,
in fact, a panorama of Oriental pomp and fairy scenery,
which must be seen to be appreciated; and, by attempting
to give a picture of one part, we are unjust to the whole.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 153
We will, therefore, give a slight description of its most
striking points as we pass onward. !
The first objects that strike the traveller on entering the
Bosphorus are the white-washed castles of Europe and Asia,
more remarkable as monuments of antiquity than formidable
as forts to repel an enemy. They, however, serve as light-
houses to the mariner, and embellish by their majestic forms
the beautiful landscape. -
A little further on we come to the pretty painted houses of
Buyukderé, extending for nearly two miles along the water's
edge, overhung by verdant hills, flower gardens, and shady
walks. Nor was the Asiatic side less picturesque and im-
posing, presenting a fine range of hills, covered with every
description of tree and shrub that could lend their aid in
imparting romantic beauty to the landscape; and if it was
less thickly inhabited, each pretty kiosk being surrounded by
its own park-like grounds, the scene, was thereby rendered
more charming and picturesque.
Buyukderé is well known as the country retreat of most of
the foreign ambassadors and wealthy Franks of Constanti-
nople; and being entirely inhabited by Christians, their taste
and wealth have contributed to embellish it by a combination
of European and Oriental elegance, visible in the style of the
buildings and well laid out grounds, which render it a delight-
ful residence.
Therapia, which has also been selected as the abode of
ambassadors and wealthy Frank merchants, is equally charm-
ing to the eye of the spectator, as a picture of united European
and Asiatic luxury, with its gaily painted houses, here en-
circling the Creek, and there rising up into an amphitheatre
of terraces, the whole embosomed in the rich foliage of a
thousand varied trees and shrubs. At every angle the pro-
spect changed; each moment, as our vessel moved onward,
154 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
new beauties were developed in the landscape, or something
novel in the architecture of the numerous kiosks that met
the view, all so light and airy that it seemed a blast of wind
Would be sufficient to hurl them into the dark blue waters of
the Bosphorus. Nor are the inhabitants of this fairy strait
less amusing and interesting to the stranger, who sees them
for the first time in their Oriental costume, and with true
Oriental listlessness, here seated under the cool shade of a
verandah smoking the eternal tchibouque, there languidly
and silently sauntering about their garden, as if they were
equal strangers both to occupation and amusement. Some-
times, indeed, the monotony is relieved by some gilded caik
darting to and fro, but he may be nearly certain it contains
a restless Frank.
About a mile beyond Therapia we came to the ancient
Pithicus, opposite the Gulf of Amycus, marked by a deep,
verdant valley, and adorned with an avenue of magnificent
beech-trees. This is one of the most delightful spots in the
environs of Constantinople, and none more visited by the
inhabitants.
We next passed the little bay, Balta-Leman, famous for
being the spot where Mahomet, the conqueror of Constanti-
nople, constructed the bridge of boats which enabled him to
cross the strait when he besieged that city. This is the nar-
rowest part of the Bosphorus, supposed also to be the place
where Darius the Mede threw over his bridge of boats when
in pursuit of the flying Scythians. In modern days it has
been no less celebrated as the watery grave of many an un-
happy victim to Eastern tyranny. .
Still, however much we may admire the ever-changing
panorama of the Thracian Bosphorus, its beauties fade into
insignificance when, on doubling the Dolma Baghtché, the
view first bursts upon the traveller of the crescent-crowned
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 155
city of the Sultan, mirrored in the clear blue waters of the
Golden Horn. Having contemplated with feelings of the
warmest admiration this most picturesque of all cities,
having glanced from palace to seraglio, from mosque and
minaret to chiosk and brightly painted Summer villas, from
cypress, plane, and vine-clad hills to the mysterious recesses
of Scutari’s interminable cemetery, the romantic acclivities
of Bulgurlu, and the blue mountains of Asia Minor-we
reluctantly stepped into a light caik, and, darting rapidly
across the Golden Horn, arrived at Galata.
Alas ! how we regretted that we could not have remained
in a blissful trance, dreaming of its beauties; for, on landing
at Galata, the spell was broken; we found the promises of a
splendid Oriental city altogether unfulfilled; and whoever
would paint the horrors of semi-barbarism in their most vivid
colours, has only to seek for his pictures in the streets of
Constantinople.
To arrive at Pera, our place of destination, we had to wade
through the narrow unpaved streets of Galata, covered with
every imaginable description of filth and dirt; and, if this
was not bad enough, the whole canine population—thousands
of half-starved, mangy, wolf-like curs—followed, barking and
snapping at our heels, as if they meant to devour us; for as
these wretched animals are considered by the Turks as un-
clean, they are left to wander through the streets, their only
Sustenance being the offal they can find, and even this is
disputed by those other scavengers of the city, the vultures.
At length, after passing through the Turkish Père-la-
Chaise, a dense grove of gloomy cypresses, crowded with
tomb-stones, we entered Pera, one of the cleanest and best
built of all the suburbs of Constantinople, and took up our
residence at our old quarters, the pensionat of M. Guisepino,
in the Strada, Santa Maria.
CONSTANTINOPLE
CHAPTER XII.
Islamism as a creed—I’s effects upon the civilization of a people—Population of the
Turkish Empire—Christians and Mahomelans—Difficulty of settling the Tºrkish
question—Expediency of concessions to the Christians—Primitive Christians in
Turkey–Probable conversion of the Turks through their agency—Anticipation
of what the present War may effect in Turkey.
It is scarcely necessary to state, what is already well known
to the Eastern traveller, that neither the Turks nor any other
Mahometan people are or ever can be progressive. The City
of the Sultan, the fair Stamboul, has very little improved in
appearance since we first visited it in 1836; neither have its

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 157
inhabitants made any striking advances in civilization. Yet
within the same space of time, nearly the whole of the capital
cities of Christendom, even in countries notorious for the
maladministration of their government, have increased in size
and beauty, and in some instances the number of their inha-
bitants has doubled. Indeed, all that we said of the metro-
polis of the Crescent in 1836 might be reprinted in 1854,
so little changed are the people, their manners, customs, or
character. -
Every nation has its peculiar features and tendencies, the
result of its moral, social, and religious institutions; and,
without entertaining any prejudice against the creed of Is-
Jamism, we must express the belief that the most energetic
people that ever existed could not resist its paralysing influ-
ence. It may be suited to man in a certain state of civiliza-
tion; and perhaps none succeeds better in uniting its different
members into one collective body, promising as it does hap-
piness, liberty, and equality, in this world, and in the next all
the enjoyments the imagination of man can invent. But
when the Mahometan becomes enlightened by intercourse
with men higher in the scale of civilization than himself, the
film falls from his eyes, he reasons, doubts, and generally ends
by becoming an infidel to his faith, and difficult to convert
to any other creed.
Again, in consequence of the peculiar nature of the Maho-
metan creed, interwoven as it is with all the habits, manners,
customs, and legislation of the people, so exclusive in its
doctrines, so opposed to innovation, it must ever prove an
insurmountable barrier to any Mahometan community be-
coming highly civilized, great, and powerful. They may
attain a certain point in intellectual progress, but further
they cannot go. We have, it is true, examples of the baneful
effects that even a Christian creed can exercise over the
158 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
industry and energy of a people in our own Western Europe,
when its spirit is opposed to the advancement of man in
knowledge and intelligence; but how much stronger is the
depressing influence of the Mahometan faith, which insists
that the Koran shall be the sole infallible guide and rule of
conduct for the government in its legislation. It cannot be
denied that since the foundation of Islamism, we have beheld
various dynasties professing its tenets attain a very consi-
derable degree of prosperity, power and influence: none of
them, however, have endured any length of time, founded on
a system so entirely opposed to the real welfare and civili-
zation of the human race; like fabrics built on sand, they
rose but to fall again. Not many years ago, the Ottoman
empire was a first-rate power ; it is now the weakest among
the States of Europe. And how could it be otherwise 7–while
the children of the Cross by their industry and intelligence
have been adding knowledge to knowledge, discovery to dis-
covery, improvement to improvement, the followers of the
Crescent remained stationary—and stationary they will re-
main so long as they adhere to a Creed which, in addition to
the mass of absurdities it inculcates, tends more than any
other to debase man as an intellectual being—the doctrine
of fatalism alone being sufficient to prostrate all mental
* *
energy.
That the passing traveller should be induced to think
favourably of Islamism is very natural; for what can be more
impressive than the solemn call of the muezzin from the top
of the minaret to prayer, or anything more sublime in devo-
tion than that exhibited by the pious Mahometan when he
prostrates himself in prayer to his Creator? He sees nothing,
he hears mothing, the world and all its cares and joys are for
the time forgotten. All this we respect and admire; our only
regret is that so much fervent devotion is not the offspring
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 159
of a purer faith than one which fosters sensuality, exclusive- .
ness, and a resolution to reject every improvement that
emanates from the Christian—from the professor of a creed
he despises. Islamism, we repeat, has been the bane, nay, the
ruin of all the fair countries over which its followers have
extended their rule; in their ruthless career they have de-
stroyed all the glorious monuments of ancient art, and in the
present day, unless an entire reform takes place in the system
of administration in Turkey, the dynasty of Othman, like
those of the other great Mahometan conquerors of the East,
will pass away from among the nations, without leaving any
monument of their existence Save the mosque and the
minaret. -
Happily a disbelief in the divine origin of the Koran has
been rapidly gaining ground among the Turks of late years;
nay, it is whispered in certain circles, that the Sultan would
not be altogether indisposed to a change in religion, that
would bring himself and his people more in harmony and
connexion with the Christian powers of Western Europe.
How devoutly must this be wished by every man who has
sojourned even for a short time among the followers of Islam-
ism 1 May its fall be as rapid as its rise ; and if we regard
the events that are now taking place, we must feel convinced
that a more than mortal will is guiding the destinies of the
East ; and though we heartily sympathise with the Turks,
we cannot but think that their present quarrel with Russia
may prove the means, by bringing them into contact with
the civilization of the West, of dispelling their ignorant fana-
ticism, and elevating them and their country to the position
nature intended them to occupy. We have abundant proofs,
in the intrepidity they have lately displayed in face of their
enemy, under the command of a chief who possesses their
confidence, that they have lost nothing of the fiery valour of
160 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
their ancestors; and if a people, who, to constancy of purpose
and energy of character, add many social virtues, could be
won over to adopt the humanizing truths of Christianity, we
should then have an indefatigable ally to assist us in the
regeneration of the benighted children of Asia ; we should
then see the light of civilization again dawning upon some
of the fairest portions of our hemisphere; new channels
opened for commerce, and a general amelioration in the
institutions, manners, and morals of millions of the human
T2, C6.
Anticipations such as these, of what may be hid in futurity,
must not however lead us from our subject ; for the horizon
is too dark and lowering—the eventualities too complicated
and embarrassing to hope for anything like an Ordinary solu-
tion of the difficulties that now surround this long agitated
question. That the hour is come when the Crescent must
wane beneath the Cross—at least in Europe—we think no
man at all acquainted with the state of the Turkish empire
can deny ; but whether the blow is to come from the autocrat
of all the Russias, or the Christian subjects of the Sultan, or
both together, who shall decide?
In a word, the question must now be definitively settled ;
for though the Turks may defend themselves for a time, they
have neither resources nor population to support a lengthened
contest, against either one or the other, unless they are Sup-
ported by the Western powers. But even should victory
crown their united efforts, how shall we ever hope for perma.
ment tranquillity, with the glaring anomaly of a Mahometan
sovereign ruling over so many millions of Christians far more
advanced in intelligence, far more numerous, industrious and
energetic than those who govern them This constitutes, in:
fact, the great difficulty of finding a solution to the question,
“What is to be done with Turkey'?” a difficulty which
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 16]
might have been long since arranged, if it had not been for
rival interests, and the expediency of preserving what diplo-
matists are pleased to call the balance of power. In the
meantime, these poor Christians have been prevented from
enjoying the blessings which civilization has conferred upon
every other Christian community in Europe—at least so far
as regards their political and civil rights, and who, if they
had been left unfettered,—if they had not been coerced on
one side by Russia, whose object was, not their emancipation,
but the extension of her own dominion, and menaced on the
other by the Western powers, who had determined to preserve
at any price the status quo of Turkish rule, would long since
have driven their Mahometan ruler into Asia. -
The Turks have all our good wishes for success in their
quarrel with Russia, but we must not forget the sympathy
due to the poor rayah, who is in fact the greatest sufferer.
Human nature is the same here as elsewhere, and how galling
must it be to the man of lofty intellect, professing the Chris-
tian faith, who has a Mahometan Sovereign for his ruler,
when he reflects that he is the victim of a barbarous system
of administration which excludes him from every hope of
distinction; dooms him to a life of political and civil slavery;
without present aim or future honour; that says to him in
its code of laws, Thou art a Rayah, and a Rayah thou shalt
die |
Can it be doubted that the day is now rapidly approaching
when this long-oppressed religious sect in Turkey, will assert
their rights by force of arms?
Up to the present time the Ottoman government, with
the best intentions, have been labouring to enforce impracti.
cable reforms, in a country where the majority of the inhabi-
tants are Christians; the code of laws the Koran ; and the
ruling power Mahometan. The consequence is, that on one
M
162 TURKEY, RUSSIA.
- f;
side the Rayah complains, and not without justice, that his
life and property are too often at the mercy of some low,
ignorant Turk in power. On the other, the fanatic Maho-
metan opposed to reform, calls his sultan a Giaour for having
invaded the privileges of his sect, flies to arms, and wreaks his
vengeance on the defenceless Rayah; thus adding increased
rancour, if that were possible, to the deadly hatred already
existing between the members of each opposing creed.
We must not therefore be led away from the question by
party writers, who extol the improved institutions, the tole-
rant spirit of the Turks, and who would place the sultan in the
first rank of princely reformers. We grant the Sultan to be
a most amiable, well-intentioned Sovereign, and his govern-
ment far in advance of the people, but they cannot hope for
many years yet to come, to remedy the misrule of centuries;
neither can we, politically speaking, now that the crisis is
actually come, leave the settlement of a question, so fraught
with danger to our own interests and the peace of the world,
to the chapter of accidents.
Several plans have been proposed to meet this difficulty;
some recommend the partition of European Turkey, others
the erection of a Greek empire, with Constantinople for its
capital. With respect to the first, it would be but a second
division of Poland ; and like it, would give rise to innume-
rable disputes and endless wars and revolutions. The second,
the dream of a few classical students and Greek enthusiasts,
would be equally unlikely to succeed: that nationality has
been already elevated into an independent kingdom, and so
far from showing any aptitude for governing, their system of
administration, is notoriously vicious and corrupt. Besides,
they are the least numerous of all the nationalities in Euro-
pean Turkey, and thoroughly disliked by all therest; neither
is it probable that Great Britain, after the return these
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 163
modern Greeks have made her for the blood and treasure
she expended in their behalf, will lend her assistance to sup-
port their power and influence.
Again, it is not likely under any circumstances, that a
brave, warlike people like the Turks, would resign their
empire without a tremendous struggle. Under this im
pression, it appears to us there is only one alternative that
affords any prospect of succeeding, and to which we formerly
alluded; it would satisfy the self-love of the Turks, and
deprive any future Tzar of Russia of a pretence to interfere
with the administration of the Turkish government. Let
Turkey in Europe be transformed into a Federal union of
States, with the Sultan as Suzerain instead of autocrat,
Each separate state might then govern itself in the same
manner as the free Principalities of Servia, Moldavia, and
Wallachia, paying a tribute to the central power, and, in the
event of war, engaging to furnish a specified contingent.
The Sultan would then fill the position he was best qualified
to occupy—the chief of the army, and the head of the
council.
There are altogether about 27,000,000 of inhabitants in
the Turkish empire; 15,000,000 of these—if we include
those scattered in different parts of Asia—are Christians of
the Oriental Church; with the exception of about half a
million Roman Catholics, the remaining 11 or 12,000,000
are Mahometans, from whom we may subtract at least
half a million or more Armenians, Jews, and Gypsies. In
estimating the strength of the two opposing parties, if the
Mahometans are more closely united by creed, and for the
most part trained to arms, the Christians have the advantage
of numbers ; and are more concentrated, occupying as they
do nearly the whole of European Turkey, and also the
strongest positions, to enable them to carry on a protracted
164 TURREY, RUSSIA,
war. Of these, there are about 7,000,000 of Bulgarians
and Servians, all Slavonians, members of the Oriental Church,
except a fraction in Turkish Croatia, who adhere to the
Roman Catholic. This people, who have the Danube, the
Save, the Adriatic, the Black Sea, and the mountains of
Albania, Macedonia and Thrace as a boundary, may be con-
sidered, owing to the labours of the panslavistic agents of
Russia, as one nationality. Altogether they would form a
most compact, respectable kingdom ; and that they are not
deficient in the necessary administrative qualities, we have
an example in the flourishing principality of modern Servia ;
a government which has done more to regenerate its people,
by founding seminaries, establishing schools, constructing
roads, bridges, public buildings, and encouraging commerce,
agriculture, and industry, during the few years of its exist-
ence, than their indolent masters the Turks had done since
the commencement of their rule. Still there is a serious
hindrance to the complete union of this nationality in the
6 or 700,000 Mahometans settled in Bosnia, and Herzegowina;
however, as they are all of the same race, the descendants of
renegades from the Oriental Church, it is by no means un-
likely, if they found it to their interest, they would join in
the war-cry of their Christian brethren : Christos nekoi !
Christos Bassaleveil
Albania, which contains a population of about 1,600,000,
is admirably defended by an encircling chain of mountains
that separates it from the provinces inhabited by the Slavo-
nians on One side, and the Greeks on the other, with the
advantage of having a long line of coast on the Adriatic.
Here we have also a Mahometan population, the descendants
of renegades, numbering, more or less, 600,000 ardent Mus-
Sulmans, and opposed to all reform. Still, it is by no means
improbable, if they saw a prospect of once more becoming a
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 165
nation, that the religious feelings of the majority might give
way to patriotism. As to the other million, composed of
members of the Oriental and Latin Church, there is little
hope of union. The latter, however, known by the name of
the Miriditi, only number about 150,000, and, in virtue of
tréaties with former Sultans, may be considered more in the
light of tributaries than subjects of the Porte. They occupy,
like the free mountaineers of Montenegro, their own little
territory in the mountains of Albania; have a settled form of
government, and acknowledge the rule of one of their native
princes. From this circumstance, their hereditary hatred to
their Christian brethren of the Oriental Church could not
materially interfere with the government of Albania, if it was
erected into a federal state.
The Greek nationality might be reconstituted by rounding
the present territory of modern Greece with Thessaly, part of
Epirus, and part of Macedonia, where the inhabitants are for
the most part Greek, in language, religion, customs, amd
YY18.]]]].61°S.
The whole of Thrace, with Constantinople and Adrianople,
where the Osmanli may be said to form the majority of the
inhabitants, with their Asiatic possessions, and the islands in
the Archipelago, would still leave Turkey a respectable power,
and, being more concentrated, and united in the bonds of one
common faith, add to her strength. Besides, as we before
observed, in any arrangement of this description, the Sultan,
as Suzerain, would draw from these federal states a very con-
siderable revenue in the shape of tribute, as he does now
from the tributary states of Servia and Moldo-Wallachia.
It is easier to remodel a government than to construct a
new one; and since the Sultan still holds the sceptre, both
France and Great Britain, the two powers most interested in
the preservation of Turkish rule, must see the necessity of
I66 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
lending their aid, nay, of enforcing, if necessary, on the
acceptance of the Ottoman Porte some such effective measure
as this, in order to bring the question to a termination.
Some stay-at-home traveller, whose tour is confined to the
four walls of his chamber, may, perhaps, if it advances the
interests of his party, extol the enlightened despotism of the
Sultan, his paternal administration, the magnitude of his
reforms, and the wonderful progress the Turkish people
have made in civilization; but the writer uninfluenced by
party prejudice, who derives his information from deeper
sources, and truthfully tells what he has seen and heard in
the countries he has visited, will come to a very different
conclusion. -
During our extensive and repeated tours in Turkey, we
witnessed the grievances of the Christian, and the inability of
the executive to carry its measures into effect for their relief;
we saw that all the efforts of the Government to regenerate
the country, or allay the sectarian prejudice of its heteroge-
neous population, were vain. We repeat, the only true
remedy is to place its Christian and Mahometan subjects on
the same footing; a total abandonment of the fanatical laws
of the Koran; in fact, to govern the Christians by Christians,
and the Mahometans by Mahometans. Hence we deduced the
inference that it was impossible to predict any lengthened
existence to the rule of a Mahometan Sovereign, if he per-
sisted in a system of rule which must eventually lead either
to a civil war, or the interference of Russia under the pre-
tence of guarding the interests of her co-religionists. This
was the view we took of the question in 1850, in our “ Travels
in European Turkey,” of which the following is an extract,
at a time when there was not the slightest prospect of a
Russo-Turkish war:— -
“After all that we have said and written respecting the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 167
political and social state of the Turkish empire, the weakness
of the government, and the difficulty with which it maintains
order in a country composed of so many nationalities and
opposing creeds, to say nothing of its inability to defend
itself from foreign aggression, it must be evident we are not
very sanguine in our hopes of the stability of Mahometan
rule. Indeed, its overthrow, at least in Europe, may be more
Sudden, and the results more complicated and embarrassing
to the diplomatic corps of Western Europe, than they now
dream of; who, occupied with their own troubles, cares, and
petty jealousies, are not sufficiently aware of the actual state
of these provinces, their political, social, and religious influ-
ences; nor how potent is the lever they possess in a vast
Christian population, should they feel inclined to carry into
these lands any of their political changes for the civilization
and amelioration of mankind, or, perhaps, what they value
still more, the adjustment of the balance of power.” “What
a vital question is then the future destiny of this numerous
people for the other countries of Europe! Here we have, so
to speak, the molten ore of which nations are cast in fusion
at our very door. May some skilful hand be found to make
a way for the Seething mass to flow in its predestined mould
of a great and powerful community, before it bursts
its barrier, and, volcano-like, spread ruin and desolation
around !” #
We will take another extract from our “Travels in Euro-
pean Turkey,” for the purpose of pointing out to those
among our readers who may not have seen that work, the
existence of a Christian sect in Turkey not generally known,
and who might, if their efforts were encouraged by our mis-
Sionary Societies, contribute in no inconsiderable degree to
* “Travels in European Turkey,” vol. ii. p. 393.
I68 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
the conversion of their countrymen of the Oriental Church
to a purer and more tolerant form of worship. Hitherto,
Russian influences, which penetrate wherever a congregation
of her own Church, the Oriental, is established, has suc-
ceeded, through the agency of its clergy and the intolerance
of its members, in preventing these primitive Christians from
disseminating their opinions.
“During our route between Adrianople and the Balkan, we
remained a day at Philippopoli, or, as the natives call it,
Philippi, the head-quarters of a religious sect called the
Paulinists, who say that they alone profess the true faith as
preached to their forefathers by Saint Paul. They are very
numerous, occupying a large district of the town, and, said
to be wealthy and industrious, moral in their habits, and well
educated. We found numbers of this religious sect in
modern Greece, and in all the large towns in European
Turkey. As far as we could learn, their form of worship is
similar to that of the primitive Christians. Previous to the
conquest of these provinces by the Turks, they suffered dread-
fully from the persecutions of the Oriental and Roman
Catholic Churches. Knowing how powerful is the influence
of religion among mankind, particularly in the East, we
cannot but think that if the Turks, from political motives,
were to encourage this sect, it would lead to a Schism among
the members of the Oriental Church, and thereby weaken
the influence of the Tzar over the many millions of his co-
religionists in the Turkish empire.”
At present the Sultan, as a Mahometan ruler, has no moral
influence over any of his Christian subjects; whereas if the
members of this sect were fostered and protected by the
state, they would be certain to increase in numbers and poli-
tical influence. Besides, regarding as they do with mingled
feelings of contempt and abhorrence mediatorial prayers
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. I69
addressed to the Virgin and saints, they might be instru-
mental in the conversion of the Turks; for certain it is, if
a Māhometan is ever to be won over to embrace the tenets
and conform to the observances of Christianity, it will never
be to either the Oriental or Roman Catholic form of worship.
In corroboration of the opinions we have here advanced,
perhaps we may be permitted to mention, that during the
various discussions we have had with Mahometans on reli-
gious subjects, they repeatedly expressed their surprise that
Christianity contained any form of faith and worship so
denuded of the extraneous and adventitious aids adopted by
the Greek and Roman Church, as Protestantism. And when
we explained to them that the essence of Christianity
consisted in its simplicity, they openly and unhesitatingly
expressed for it their warmest admiration. May we not,
therefore, infer, without being accused of entertaining vision-
ary fancies, that if prudent and rational measures were
adopted during the military occupation of Constantinople
and the other large towns in Turkey by the armies of Eng-
land and France, a strong probability exists that the Turks
might be converted to Christianity ? For although the
French profess themselves to be members of the Roman
Catholic Church, they have long since, in common with every
enlightened Roman Catholic of Western Europe, discarded
from their profession of faith everything that the barbarism
of a barbarous age had introduced into it.
However much we may condemn the degrading and puerile
absurdities of Islamism, we must acknowledge there is a great
deal in it deserving our admiration, in the simplicity of its
rites and ceremonies; and, as we before observed, the devo-
tion with which an entire people, when called to prayer,
adore the one indivisible eternal God, contrasting, we regret
to Say, most favourably with many of the unmeaning and,
170 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
in some instances, idolatrous ceremonies of the Oriental
Church.
Perhaps one of the greatest foibles in the character of the
Turk is his superstition. It seems to be a part of his very
nature, an inheritance he derived from his shepherd an-
cestors. We find it pervading all classes, from the peasant
to the Sultan; and although the Koran denounces astrology
as a crime only inferior to idolatry, the Sultan retains in his
household a Muned-jimbashi (chief astrologer).
Amulets are still worn by every true Osmanli; indeed
their manufacture constitutes a most profitable employment
to thousands of ingenious artisans, and their Sale a Source of
large revenue to the priests, who consecrate them. They are
made in every form, to suit every purchaser, and, as may be
Supposed, are believed to be a safeguard against every danger.
Every house has one suspended over the door; the shep-
herd attaches them to his flock, the merchant to his bale of
goods, the equestrian to the neck of his charger, the Soldier
wears one about his person to protect him from the bullet of
the enemy, the fair dame to increase her embonpoint, and
make her fruitful as a wife; and the whole of the men,
women, and children wear one, to shield them from the
effects of the evil eye, the witch, and the sorcerer.
\
,”
T H E S U L T AN

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 171
CHAPTER XIII.
Decrease of fanaticism among the Turks—General description of Constantinople—
Public buildings—Bazaars—Mosques—San Sophia–The streets—Shops and
shopkeepers — Turkish music — Popular superstition — Turkish courtship—
Wedding.
TRAVELLING in Turkey, so far as regards comfort at inns, is
attended with many inconveniences; but the regulations of
the Government with respect to strangers or the natives of the
country, are by no means vexatious or unnecessarily trouble-
some. Indeed, of all the European Governments, with the
exception of our own, none is so little bureaucratic, none in
which the pressure is so lightly felt, as that of Turkey. There
is no petty tyrant in office to torment you with a string of
interrogatories, such as, whence you had come? whither you
Were going? how long you intended to stay ? what religion you
profess! the object of your journey and a hundred other
questions, which have no other effect than to annoy the
peaceable traveller, and are of little or no use in facilitating
the detection of a criminal.
This freedom of action, which every traveller enjoys to its
fullest extent, reconciles him in some measure to the total
absence of all domestic comfort, wherever he may be domi-
ciliated, for of this the Turks have not the slightest idea.
There are, it is true, one or two hotels in Constantinople,
kept by foreigners; but in addition to being exceedingly
expensive, they are inferior to any of our second-rate hotels
in Western Europe,
I72 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
We are happy to record, that the fanaticism and dislike
entertained by the lower class of Mahometans to a foreign
Giaour, which we experienced in common with every other
European traveller some years since on our first visit to
Constantinople, no longer exists; the stranger may now
wander through the town and its environs in any costume
he pleases. He may enter a Turkish restaurant, he may
Smoke his tehibouque with a Turk in a coffee-house, attend
military parade, lounge about the precincts of the Seraglio or
the Mosque, without the slightest molestation.
Even among this conservative people, how changed is the
spirit of the age All that is now required of the traveller,
even if he wishes to enter the Mosque, is to give a few
piastres to the Muezzin, and leave his slippers at the door,
lest he should disturb the faithful at their prayers. Yet we
remember the time when a Christian dog who had the hardi-
hood to defile one of them by his presence, without a permit
from the Sultan, must either die or become a Mahometan.
We shall now take the reader with us, and show him some-
thing of the City of the Sultan; a city that, were it not for
its fine harbour, filled with vessels from every country under
heaven, its domes and minarets, its palaces and public build-
ings, might be termed a collection of straggling villages, so
little has it in common with any of our European capitals.
This will be understood when we say, that throughout the
whole town and its suburbs, Galata, Pera, and Scutari, we do
not find a single street entitled to any other appellation than
a narrow lane. Then the houses, for the most part built of
wood, are rarely more than one story high; and, to increase
the unfavourable impression on a stranger, in addition to the
filth he meets at every step, the silence that pervades a place
in which such a large concourse of human beings are congre-
gated is at once gloomy and depressing. Instead of Carts
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 173
and carriages rolling through the streets, you meet cavalcades
of pack-horses, mules, asses, and camels. Sometimes, it is
true, the Sultan, a rich pacha, or a foreign ambassador, shows
himself in his fine gilded coach; but the greater number of
the vehicles we meet with are the old-fashioned Arabas, drawn
by buffaloes, and moving onward at a most hearse-like pace.
With the exception of San Sophia, which owes its preser-
vation to the circumstance of being converted into a mosque,
and the Cisterns, those splendid works of the ancient Greeks,
Scarcely a vestige remains of the once glorious city of the
Constantines. The Seraglio, rather an imposing building,
occupies the site of the ancient Byzantium; the cattle-market
that of the palace of Constantine the Great; the Atmeidan,
the race-course of the ancient Romans and the Byzantine
Greeks, is now only interesting for having in its centre an
Egyptian obelisk, and the famous brazen column of three
spiral Serpents which some barbarous Sultan, we forget his
name, thought proper to decapitate. The aqueduct, which
forms so beautiful a feature in the landscape of the Bos-
phorus, still supplies Constantinople with the purest water,
as it did in the days of the ancient Romans: this, in fact,
with the hundred-marble-pillar bath, are the only remains of
antiquity to be found in Constantinople in the present day.
Perhaps we ought to mention the tower of Leander, were it
for nothing else than the legend attached to it, and its very
romañtic situation on a solitary rock in the midst of the
Bosphorus.
Among the public buildings of Constantinople most inte-
resting to a stranger, are the bazaars and mosques. The
former are appropriated to the sale of every description of
merchandise, the four quarters of the globe contributing
their treasures to minister to the luxuries and wants of the
Turkish people. -
|
174 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Here we find the most costly shawls from India and
Persia; the rich velvet, satins, and silks from the looms of
Broussa; the delicate embroidery of many a fair lady of the
Harem; the calicoes of Manchester; the hardwares of Shef-
field and Birmingham; the bijouteries of Paris; the toys of
Germany; carpets of every description and every manufac-
ture; glass from Bohemia, all arranged on stalls, in the
most attractive manner possible, to strike the attention of
a customer. * * -
The bazaar is also a species of fashionable promenade; for
here may be seen at every hour of the day, Frank-strangers
of all nations, Turkish civil and military officers in their
appropriate costume, Armenians, Persians, Greeks, Arabians,
Egyptians, Jews in their long flowing robes and various
coloured turbans, intermingled with many a fair dame en-
veloped in her yachmak, gliding silently along, but whether
a veiled houri or fury is best known to her lord.
The merchant vendors, like their wares, are from many
a distant land; but it is easy for an experienced traveller to
detect at the first glance the nationality of each, whatever
may be his costume. The most striking of all is the grave,
Serious, self-possessed, proud Osmanli, squatted on his coun-
ter, and smoking the eternal tchibouque. If you purchase
any of the articles he has to sell, he delivers it to you most
leisurely and deliberately—for he is never in a hurry, and
appears to think your custom a matter of Supreme indiffer-
ence: with him there is no bargaining or disputing about
the price,—like a Quaker, he is a man of few words: if you
offer him a lower sum than that demanded, the article is put
away without any kind of comment; and if you purchase it,
the money is received without even a bow of acknowledg-
ment. -
The Armenian, who may be said to combine in his own
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 175
person the character, habits, and manners of Turk, Jew, and
Christian, is to be found here, as well as in all the other
large towns in Turkey and Asia, where a penny is to be
made. Notwithstanding the astonishing facility with which
he adapts himself to the prejudices of the people among
whom he lives; like the Jew, he bears about him the un-
mistakeable stamp of nationality; and like that wandering
people, he is also a wanderer,-the remnant of a once power-
ful people now dispersed among the nations. $
As traders, either in buying or selling, the Armenians are
unequalled for tact and shrewdness; nay, they may be said
to have reduced commerce to a science. In the bazaar his
stall is neater, better stocked, and the articles better ar-
ranged than in that of any of his competitors. There he
sits, as silent and dignified as an Osmanli; and like him,
names the price without seeming to care whether you pur-
chase or not; but it is the bland Smile ever on his counte-
nance, the art with which he exhibits an article to the
purchaser, and the graceful manner he lays his hand upon
his breast while naming the price, that wins the good opinion
of the stranger. It is therefore more than probable, after
making the round of the bazaar, wearied with the taciturnity
of the Turks, the loquacity of the mercurial Greek, the
anxious desire of the Hebrew to sell,—he returns to the stall
of the patriarchal, honest-looking Armenian, and pays a
higher price than the article is really worth. Then his cha-
racter of Christian is certain to recommend him to his brethren
in faith, under the impression that they will not be cheated.
The Jew of the bazaar is also a most important personage:
like his race in general, he is obliging in his manner; and,
being acquainted with several languages, his stall is much
patronised by the stranger Frank, who finds in the willing
Hebrew a man to whom he can make known his wishes,
176 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
whether as a purchaser or to employ him as an interpreter
in his dealings with the other foreign traders.
The bazaars of Constantinople, like those in all the great
towns of the East, are strongly built, covered with domes,
and supported by pilasters. Though well adapted for the
Sale of merchandise, we should not like to see them intro-
duced into any of our crowded towns and cities. Here, how-
ever well ventilated they may be, they are considered very
unhealthy, and, owing to the negligent habits of the people,
become a hot-bed of disease—the first place in which the
cholera, the plague, or any similar epidemic, finds a home.
The Mosque, which only a few years since was so difficult
of access to a Christian, is now open to the inspection of any
traveller who may be accompanied by a Mahometan, or
chooses to bribe the muezzin by a few piastres. As they are
all similar in form and decorations, the only difference being
in size and splendour, a description of one will serve for the
whole. They are all adorned with minarets and a dome,
supported by columns of marble, jasper, and porphyry, as the
case may be. There is a court-yard in front, decorated with
a fountain in the form of a temple, and shaded with the
united foliage of the cypress and the plantain; in whose
branches numerous colonies of doves, that favourite bird of
Mahomet, find a home; while beneath their shade the pious
Mussulman, in languid listlessness, lounges through the
summer's day.
Although the mosque may not satisfy the most correct
taste, still its peculiar style of architecture, and the graceful
form of the lofty, slender minaret, must ever please the be-
holder, and excite his warmest admiration. That of St.
Sophia, however inferior in beauty to the mosque of Sultan
Achmed, is nevertheless much more interesting, linked as it
is with the early history of the Church, the fall of the Eastern
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 177
empire, and the final establishment of the rule of the Turks
in Europe. The finest religious edifice in Turkey is un-
doubtedly the mosque built by Sultan Bajazet, at Adrianople,
when that city was the capital of the Ottoman empire.
European genius has invented no style of architecture more
bold and original than that of this splendid building; nor
anything that produces a more charming effect than its
elegant minarets, piercing the air to a height of more than
100 feet.
But to return to San Sophia, the exterior is by no means
imposing: you see before you a heterogeneous mixture of
piles and buttresses; and the general effect of the whole
edifice would be dumpy, were it not for the airy, graceful
minarets which rise like fairy columns above the dome. The
interior is not more felicitous in its decorations; for the por-
phyry, Egyptian granite, jasper and marble columns, being
all of different orders and different sizes, form a most incon-
gruous whole, setting at nought all the rules of symmetry
and taste: they are, however, interesting for the extreme
beauty and delicacy of their sculpture, having formerly served
to support different temples dedicated to the celebration of
Pagan worship.
The first impression of the spectator on entering, is its
vast extent; this effect is aided by the absence of altars,
statues, pews, chapels, or indeed any object that might have
lessened its magnitude ; and also by the inconsiderable eleva-
tion of its cupola, in proportion to its circumference,—the
only merit in the architecture of the building. Like every
other mosque, destitute of ornament, or any object to remind
one of its Sacred destination, save the pulpit, it gives to the
stranger more the idea of a colossal tomb than a place
dedicated to divine worship; still, when the many-coloured
glass lamps suspended from the dome are lighted, and the
N
178 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
spacious edifice filled with a multitude of true believers, the
effect must be imposing.
While wandering through the gloomy edifice, as our eye
rests on the time-worn banner of Mahomet, the conqueror of
Constantinople, placed by his own hand over the pulpit, to
commemorate the fall of an empire, we are involuntarily
reminded of that dreadful day when, after a carnage of which
the world has had but few examples, the infuriated hosts of
the crescent, at the command of their leader, offered up their
praises to heaven for their victory, kneeling on the mangled .
bodies of the men they had slain
There is as little variety in the streets of Constantinople
as in the public buildings; for, like the mosque and the
bazaar, a description of One will apply to all.
Let the reader then picture to himself a narrow street,
having a gutter of dirty water running through the centre, L
and lined on each side with a row of wooden houses, very
seldom more than one or two stories high, badly paved,
very dirty in wet weather, and equally disagreeable in fine,
owing to dust and unpleasant odours, and he will have
a good idea of Constantinople, and indeed of every other
town in the Turkish empire, for they all exhibit a strong
family likeness.
Attached to the outside of most of these houses may be
seen a broad wooden shutter, which serves by night to pro-
tect the property of the inmates, and by day when supported
by poles for a verandah. If the dwelling should happen to
be a shop, a platform about two feet high is placed within,
which answers the double purpose of displaying such wares
as the shopkeeper may have to sell, and a divan on which he
may seat himself in all the dignity of Oriental pride and
laziness, very probably smoking his tehibouque, and appa-
rently indifferent whether he sells his wares or not.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 179
If the traveller should obtain an entrance into one of
these houses—which is, however, extremely difficult, for both
Mussulman and Christian are equally exclusive, equally un-
willing to receive the Frank stranger—he will see a little
square court, surrounded by the ménage, the harem, and the
usual offices belonging to an Oriental family. If the dwell-
ing should be of a superior description, and its owner wealthy,
he will find a neat verandah on the four sides of the quad-
rangle, with divans, carpets, and cushions; and in the centre
a pretty fountain, with a flower-garden and a few ever-
greens.
A STREET IN CONSTANTINOPLE.
As he wanders through the streets he may amuse himself
by watching the manner in which the different trades are
carried on in the open shop; or he may study the artizan at
work, and so acquire a knowledge of any art he pleases,

180 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
without serving an apprenticeship; and if he should feel
inclined to take refreshment or smoke a tohibouque, nearly
every fourth house is a restaurant, or a coffee-house, which
furnish viands by no means to be despised, and certainly
the best coffee in the world; neither should it be forgotten
that no cook, not even a Frenchman, can equal a Turk in
making a salad, or in roasting his inimitable kibebs.
As may be supposed, towns composed of streets such as
we have described cannot be healthy; and if to this we add
the entire absence of sewers, and the filth which necessarily
accumulates when every species of offal is thrown into streets
which have no other scavengers than the dog and the vul-
ture, we can scarcely wonder that the population of Constan-
tinople is not on the increase. Indeed, we have only to look
at the pale emaciated countenances of the inhabitants to be
assured of its insalubrity; neither can we feel surprised that
fever and choléra, which love to hover about stagnant pools,
covered bazaars, and badly ventilated houses and streets,
should here find a home; nor that when any epidemic does -
break out, the loss of life is frightful.
Trifles sometimes prove of more importance than we at
first anticipate. Were it not that every species of trade and
handicraft is carried on in the open streets—thus to some
extént relieving the monotony of a town where there is
neither amusement, intellectual recreation, nor Social enjoy-
ment for a stranger–Constantinople would be unendurable.
As it is, when the novelty in the character, manners, and
customs of so many different races—forming as they do a
complete ménagerie of the inhabitants of the east—has
passed away, it becomes the most dreary place imaginable to
a stranger. If you hear the merry laugh or boisterous shout,
it is certain to proceed from some half-witted Delhi; and if
you meet a woman, no matter of what race or creed, she is
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 181
almost certain to be enveloped in the yash-mak—through
which, if she is pretty, and you please her fancy, she exhibits
a pair of dazzling eyes, or perhaps discloses a fine set of
pearly teeth—no doubt, very captivating charms, if it were
not that your admiration is neutralized when you glance at
her ill-fitting paposhes, shuffling gait, and the entire absence
of grace in every movement.
Even music, So exhilarating to the inhabitants of other
lands, here sounds like a dirge; for the gamut of a Turk
comprises but two notes—high and low—and from these he
produces a cadence that must be heard to be conceived; but
it is beneath his dignity either to sing or dance; and in his
estimation a great talker must be a man of little mind, in
short, a feather-headed Frank.
Rayah, Jew, Armenian, or Gypsy—all have caught the
Solemn taciturn manner of their lords. The same apathetic
phlegm, exhibited by the pacha, is seen in the artizan as he
sits cross-legged at his work. Even the mercurial Greek, the
light-hearted Albanian, have not been able to withstand the
infection. Perhaps it may be the injunction of the Koran
which obliges a true Believer to pray five times a day, that
produces this most wearisome solemnity of national character,
so that, like the puritan of the convent, he has no relish for
the lighter amusements enjoyed by those who profess a reli-
gion that is neither so exacting nor so restrictive in its
observances.
Be this as it may, the example of so much devotion on the
part of the Turk has been to a certain extent imitated by
his Christian fellow-subjects; not one of whom ever performs
an act of every-day life, however trifling, without crossing
himself. And if to this we add the superstitions of both—
the apprehension of evil constantly predominating over every
other feeling; the number of unlucky days, and unlucky
182 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
hours to be provided against; the variety of ill-omened birds
and animals that may cross their path; the evil eye; sor-
cerers and vampyres; with the evil genii of the mountain,
the dell, and the river; and above all, Schaitan (Satan) him-
self—we cannot be surprised at the eternal crossings of the
Christian, nor the eternal handling of amulets by the Maho-
metan, to Secure protection against such a host of natural
and Supernatural enemies; nor that a gloomy disposition of
mind should characterise the inhabitants of Constantinople,
and indeed of the entire empire.
Still, however gloomy and superstitious, however taciturn
and reserved an Osmanli may be as he pursues the even
tenour of every-day life, his character is full of contradictions;
—that quiet, reserved, sedate-looking man, that we see sitting
cross-legged on his little carpet, Smoking his tehibouque
from morning till night, is susceptible of the strongest pas-
sions that ever burned in the breast of man. He is capable
of the most virtuous action; he can perpetrate the darkest
deed; he can be the trustiest friend, or the deadliest foe; he
can be the most generous of men, as the most avaricious;
and however indolent in his actions, however sensual in his
enjoyments, once aroused by any exciting cause, he becomes
a dreadful enemy; and if he has once tasted blood, the tiger
is not more ferocious, nor more difficult to satiate.
In common with all Asiatics, there is also now and then
a great deal of romance displayed in the actions of the
Osmanli; and he never exhibits himself to greater advantage
than when he is captivated by the charms of some fair flower
of the harem. It might be expected in a country where the
sexes only meet as strangers, that a marriage of mutual affec-
tion rarely occurs; but it does far more frequently than an
inhabitant of Western Europe might suppose.
When, therefore, it happens that a youthful Effendi is
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 183
fascinated by the ideal charms—for he can only guess at
them—of some fair houri, as enveloped in her ample folds of
white muslim, she is repairing to the bath, attended by her
slaves, the inamorato, instead of sending a billet-doux, most
Sentimentally drops a bouquet of hyacinths in the path of
the lady as she returns, waddling like a stately Swan just
emerged from the water, for be it remembered that in
Turkey reading and writing are not universal accomplish-
ments. .
By the aid of a purse of sequins one of the female attend-
ants is now converted into a Mercury; she presents the
nosegay to her mistress, telling her that an aspiring butterfly
sighs to obtain possession of the beautiful rose ; or, to drop
metaphor, that a certain rich and handsome Effendi desires
the honour of her hand. Should the rose blush consent, and
accept the bouquet, a carnation wrapped in an embroidered
handkerchief is sent to the butterfly; and as a further
encouragement, on her next visit to the bath, by some
unexpected accident, the veil drops from her face and snow-
white arms, and she stands for an instant revealed in all
her charms before her astonished admirer.
Enchanted by such a vision of beauty, the butterfly wings
its way to the father of the blushing rose, and either agrees
to pay a certain sum for the object of his wishes, or wins the
consent of the parents by rich presents, and the prospects of
the advantages to be derived by an alliance with an Effendi
of such powerful connexions.
After this preliminary has been concluded, and the dowry
agreed upon paid—for in this country a man is not only
obliged to purchase his wife, but to make a settlement upon
her—the bridegroom repairs to the mosque, and announces
his intention to the Iman, who offers up a few appropriate
prayers, which shows that even the Mahometan invests
184 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
this ceremony with a religious character. It is also regarded
as a civil contract, being publicly registered in presence of
the Cadi, parents, and friends of both parties.
When the different formalities have been completed, the
bride is conducted with great pomp to the bath, where she
submits to a long process of perfuming, anointing, &c. She
is then taken to her husband's dwelling, in a very gay, gilded
car, with a gaudy canopy, drawn by a team of buffaloes; in
which she is seated, like a gem in a casket, her whole form
enveloped in a cloud of rich gold gauze.
On these festive occasions there are always troops of cava-
liers in attendance, buffoons, dancing girls, bands of music,
&c. Therefore the din, as we may well suppose, caused by
these uproarious rejoicings is absolutely deafening. She is
received at her new dwelling by her lord, or his parents, and
introduced to the harem assigned for her use; when the
ceremony concludes with two grand entertainments—one in
honour of the bride, and the other of the bridegroom.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 185
CUFFEE-lic USE ON THE BOSPHORUS.
CHAPTER XIV.
Environs of Constantinople—Caiks and boatmen—Pisit to Mount Bulgurlu-
Splendid Scenery-Reflections—Ercursion to Broussa—Desolated aspect of the
Country–Description of Broussa–Encampment of the Turkomans—Visit to the
Walley of the Sweet Waters.
WHEN the traveller has become wearied with the novelties
of Constantinople, if he has a taste for the picturesque, there
is a never-failing source of enjoyment open to him in the
beautiful environs; which furnish scenes so romantic and
charming, that neither the pen of the writer nor the pencil
of the painter can do them justice. But to see them pass
before him without any personal fatigue, he must engage
a caik and a couple of boatmen, and glide over the clear blue
waters of the Golden Horn,

186 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
These boats—the caik—in whose construction the Turks
display both taste and ingenuity, are extremely elegant,
generally built of oak or cedar, fancifully carved and var-
nished. They usually measure about thirty feet long, by
two or three in breadth; and the prow being long and
sharply pointed, they cut through the water with the velocity
of an arrow. At every hour of the day, thousands of these
graceful 'barks may be seen skimming the surface of the
Golden Horn, varying in size, and calculated to carry from
four to eight or ten persons. § -
The boatmen, who are said to amount to more than 60,000,
form a sort of nursery for the Turkish fleet, and a finer set
of fellows you rarely meet with in any country. Their per-
Sonal appearance is certainly much improved by a most
becoming costume, consisting in Summer of a white cotton
shalwar confined at the waist by a red silk shawl, a silk jacket
with wide sleeves, and the usual red fez, with its jaunty blue ,
silk tassel. º
Still, however much we may admire this most picturesque
of all cities and its enchanting environs, while boating on
the clear blue waters of the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus,
and the Sea of Marmora, if we would enjoy them in all their
splendour and at one view, we must ascend Mount Bulgurlu,
only two miles distant from Scutari.
Oh, shade of Mahomet ! the world is marching onward
even in conservative Turkey. Those restless innovators, John
Bull and his equally go-ahead son of another hemisphere,
who have already introduced their habits, customs, and
opinions, their railroads and steamboats, into every country
on the Continent of Europe;—if they are allowed to continue
invading the fair land of the Crescent with their novel impor-
tations, in a few years more, Eastern romance even to the
mysteries of the harem, will become matters of history. It
*
*
3
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 187
will scarcely be believed, though nevertheless strictly true,
that the traveller now, on leaving Scutari, finds himself sur-
rounded by a little army of Turkish and Greek boys, as
vehemently importuning him, in broken English, to hire
them and their ponies to conduct him to the top of the moun-
tain, as if he was at a French watering-place or a German
bath. His astonishment will be further increased when he
sees several fair flowers of the Harem, enveloped in folds of
muslin, and attended by their black guards, galloping up the
hill in company with the blue-eyed daughters of England.
How often, in our repeated visits to Constantinople, have
we repaired to Mount Bulgurlu, to enjoy from its lofty
summit the glorious landscape, which seemed to improve on
each succeeding visit, so manifold are its beauties; and taken
altogether, whether we regard the materials composing it, or
their peculiar combinations, it must be pronounced to be
unequalled in any other part of the world, replete as it is
with classic interest, and every charm that either poet or
artist could conceive or paint.
At a single view we behold the entire city of Constanti-
nople, with its suburban towns, Galata, Pera, and Scutari,
spread out before us as in a map. After having glanced from
palace to Chiosk, from Seraglio, mosque, minaret, and spire,
to the glassy waters of the Golden Horn, filled with the ships
f every nation, we have only to turn to the left, and look
down on the romantic Sea of Marmora, and the distant Hel-
lespont, with their pretty islands, villages, and vine-clad hills,
the whole of the beautiful picture rendered still more perfect
by being enclosed as it were in a frame by the glorious out-
line of the snow-crowned Olympus. Nor are the features of
this magnificent landscape less imposing, less interesting, if
we turn to the right : we see the lovely Bosphorus winding
its way like a stately river to the distant Euxine, through
188 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
a succession of panoramic scenery composed of every object
that can possibly captivate the beholder, with the magnificent
mountain range of Asia Minor towering in the distance.
The traveller who sees all this, the theatre of some of the
most important events that ever took place in the world,
cannot but find subject for reflection. The mind reverts to
the semi-barbarian chieftain, Bysas, who with his horde of
warlike shepherds here spread their tents, and founded a city
to which they gave his name;—to the various powerful mo-
narchs that succeeded him, who made this their seat of
empire, Greeks and Romans. He then asks, What are the
remains of their power' where are their amphitheatres,
their triumphal arches, their forums, their temples, their
statues? Then he remembers the pastoral tribes of Northern
Parthia traversing the wilds of Asia, under their leader
Othman, subduing town after town, city after city, and like
a whirlwind sweeping away the beautiful monuments of art,
and finally making their home in that proud metropolis
where one of Rome's mightiest emperors first gave the perse-
cuted Christians the shelter of a monarch's protection.
Again, can he avoid remembering that another valiant
horde, numerous as the sand on the sea-shore, and fanatic as
the first Crusaders, are at this moment issuing from their
snowy regions to wrest this lovely land from the infidel
Moslem *.
How then can we explain that a country so felicitous in its
situation and climate, has ever been fatal to its possessors?
Is it, as some assert, that the enervating air gradually saps
the force and energy of the character, and paves the way for
the abandonment to sensual indulgence Or is it not, rather,
that each successive people, never having been completely
civilized, did not understand the principles of governing, and
that, having conquered only for the sake of rapine, and ruled
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 189'
only with a view to extortion, they were instrumental in
their own ruinº
Unhappily, the memorials of the race of Othman are
written too legibly on the lands over which they have been
called to rule, to require from the pen of the traveller a
single comment. The various advantages they possess have
been given in vain. Enthroned in the finest position of our
hemisphere, which might justify them in giving laws to the
world and engrossing its commerce, still they have remained
as great strangers among the nations as their shepherd ances-
tors were 400 years ago. With seas and navigable rivers,
ports and harbours sufficiently capacious to receive the ships
of every maritime nation in the world, their power is feeble,
their commerce insignificant. For, entrenched behind a.
barrier of ignorance and prejudice, they would neither amal-
gamate with the people they had conquered, nor enter into
social and political relations with their neighbours. Hence
the consequence has been, that, while other nations with
fewer resources have been rapidly advancing in civilization,
commerce, industry, and political importance, they have
remained sunk in the lethargy of indolence. Still, we do not
altogether despair of a people who have shown so much
energy in the moment of peril; and now that the national
spirit is thoroughly aroused, the old fanatical party fast
passing away, and the foreign element entering more deeply
into their religion, habits, customs, and manners, are we not
justified in saying that there is every hope of at least vast
and momentous changes for the better, in the moral, poli-
tical, and social conditions of this people, if not of an entire
regeneration in the national character'ſ
To convey to the untravelled reader some idea of the ex-
ternal aspect of a country daily becoming more and more
interesting from the important events of which it is the
190 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
theatre, and the change that is likely to take place in its
government and institutions, we shall continue to give a few
more descriptions of the most remarkable places in the
vicinity of Constantinople; and there is none more attractive
or interesting than the romantic Broussa, lying as it does at
the foot of Mount Olympus, the council-chamber of Homer's
conclave of the gods.
After crossing the Sea of Marmora, we engaged at Mou-
diana a guide and a pair of horses, and continued our journey
through a country fertile to exuberance, but so wild and
Solitary that we might almost have imagined we were travel-
ling in some uninhabited land. At every step the country
continued to develop features the most beautiful and pic-
turesque. At one time we wandered through a romantic
Valley, watered with numerous springs and rivulets, and
bounded by gently swelling hills, clothed to their summit
with the wild olive, the wild vine, the mulberry, and every
species of odoriferous shrub, and not unfrequently inter-
mingled with the wide-spreading oak and valona; then we
bounded over a green sward, level as a carpet, and enamelled
with a thousand flowers. . .
This district is the favourite resort of the wandering Turko-
mans; and it was not long before we encountered one of their
encampments, surrounded by their flocks and herds, in true
patriarchal style. They received us with that kind hospi-
tality which this harmless race always displays towards the
stranger; and, having tasted of the produce of their dairy,
broken bread, and smoked the tehibouque, we won the
brightest smiles, and received the warmest thanks of our fair
hostesses, by presenting them with a few articles of English
manufacture, such as Scissors, needles, thread, &c.
On leaving the encampment, we next ascended a hill, from
the Summit of which we caught a glimpse of Broussa, and
"THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 191
enjoyed the prospect of a landscape that would excite the
enthusiasm of the most fastidious traveller. There were
minarets and domes, chiosks and towers, mingling their varied
forms with the richest vegetation of the garden and the
forest, while high above all was seen Mount Olympus, rearing
its hoary head to the heavens. * *
It was impossible to look down on that fairy vision, lit up
as it then was with the bright sun of an Eastern sky, without
being reminded of the declaration of the ancient king of
Bythmia respecting Hannibal, the Carthaginian hero.
“Why,” said he, “should I entangle myself in the conflicts
of nations? Why should I ally myself with a fallen con-
queror' Why should I become a party to his quarrels, and
endanger the possession of my own Bythnia, where I enjoy
every happiness the most delightful country in the universe
can afford 7"
Broussa, like every other Turkish town, does not improve
on a near acquaintance: the streets, as usual, are narrow,
and the houses built of wood; the fountains with the bazaars
form the principal ornament of the place, and the mineral
springs, of which there are several, are said to be most effi-
cacious in the cure of certain diseases. The great attraction
of the town, however, is its manufactures of velvets, silks,
and cottons, Broussa being in this respect the Lyons and
Manchester of Turkey. -
Broussa is a great favourite with the Osmanli, who at least
once in their lives repair from every part of the Turkish em-
pire to visit the tomb of the first Othman, who lies here with his
gallant son, Orcan. In their day Broussa was the capital of the
Turkish dominions, but as they increased in extent the capital
was subsequently removed to Adrianople, and finally to Con-
stantinople. The great attraction, however, to the traveller is
the classic interest attached to the country, but how changed!
192 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
and how true is the proverb, “No grass will grow where the
Sultan's horses tread I’” A few ruins are all that we now find
of the once celebrated Nicea; while Nicomedia—the magnifi-
cent Nicomedia—has passed away, without leaving even a
trace to tell where it once stood.
Our picture of Constantinople and its environs would be
incomplete, unless we took a glance at the favourite resort of
the beau monde of Stamboul, the romantic Kiat-hané, or, as
the Franks term it, the Walley of the Sweet Waters. We
will, therefore, select a Friday, the Turkish Sabbath, for our
visit. *
To carry us thither we engaged a caik, which had to thread
its way through a multitude of vessels of every size, and from
every nation, — now alongside of an American merchant
vessel, now under the bows of a huge man-of-war, then dart-
ing out of the way of an English steamer ready to engulph us
in its swell. At length we shot out of the Golden Horn, and
ascended the Barbyses, which slowly glides through a narrow
valley shut in on either side with gently swelling hills, in
whose groves of cypress that favourite bird of a true Be-
liever, the turtle-dove, sat cooing to her loving mate till we
arrived at our destination.
We are perpetually reminded that the present age is indeed
one of prose and reality, business-like and unromantic.
Steam, by land and water, is daily bringing the ends of the
earth into communication with each other, and mingling
in familiar every-day contact the inhabitants of the most
distant lands, who a quarter of a century since were scarcely
cognizant of each other's existence: thus obliterating all those
salient characteristics and peculiarities of race which consti-
tute national individuality, and tending to blend all mankind
in one vast family. It must be confessed, however, that even
in the present day, on the very confines of our own Europe,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, 193
the scene which may yet be witnessed at the Sweet Waters
of Stamboul is one that cannot fail to make a deep impres-
sion on the traveller still fresh from the West. Here he is
presented with a vivid and striking epitome of Asiatic life,
in all its variety and gorgeousness. The days of Haroun-al-
Raschid and Solyman the Magnificent have not yet entirely
passed away, and the scenes of the Arabian Nights are no
longer a fable.
WALLEY OF THE SWEET WATERs.
Far as the eye can reach, among the gaily painted kiosks,
snow-white tents and interminable cypress groves, gleam and
flutter the many-coloured garments of a thousand different
nationalities of the glowing East, a very living parterre of
diversified costume and physiognomy—all Eastern, truly and
completely Eastern. Having sufficiently enjoyed the novel
and brilliant effect of the entire scene, let us look around and
study in detail some of the countless groups seated on their
O

194 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
little carpets, and sipping their sherbet or their coffee to the
never-failing accompaniment of the tohibouque, and enjoying,
with a truly Oriental sense of the luxury of repose, the cool
breezes of the Sweet Waters. - -
The first that attracts our attention is a party of genuine
Turks of the old School, turbaned, bearded, and enveloped in
the flowing and graceful folds of the costume of a period
when the Scanty, close-buttoned European dress, and even
the semi-Oriental fez, were things undreamt of by the haughty
conquerors of the empire of Constantine. They appeared to
be enjoying their otium cum dignitate like true Osmanli,
plunged into that dreamy half-conscious state of passive
enjoyment which seems to constitute the Eastern beau-ideal
of earthly felicity, the only sign they gave of belonging to the
living waking world around them, being the emission at
regular periods of a jet of smoke from beneath their thick
and curling moustache.
That times were, however, in some degree changed even in
the City of the Sultan, we were reminded by the presence
at no great distance of a group of officers of the Nizam,
whose Europeanised dress contrasted, it must be confessed,
somewhat unfavourably with the picturesque fulness of a
genuine Eastern costume, especially as the military trowser
is by no means calculated to conceal that tailor-like outward
curve of the limb it covers, which is contracted by the pecu-
liar mode of sitting adopted throughout the East.
A few paces further, we come upon a group of the fair
daughters of Stamboul: we say fair, for so we deem them by
courtesy to be, being unable to distinguish more of their
features through the Yashmak in which they were concealed,
than a pair of dark Oriental eyes, which gleam with height-
ened brilliancy from contrast with its snowy folds. They had
just alighted from a richly carved and gilded Araba, drawn
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA 195
by a team of buffaloes, bespangled and betasSeled, and were
causing their carpet to be spread on the grass, preparatory to
taking their pleasure somewhat after the manner of their
lords. We were, however, soon impressed with the fact, that,
however taciturn the latter might be, the fair daughters of
Eve are in one respect the same in every part of the World,
all appearing disposed to reverse the order of the words in
the precept, “Il est bien de parſer, mais meilleur de se taire,”
and we were convinced that the ladies of the East can chatter
as fluently, laugh as gaily, and probably talk scandal as
volubly, as their fair sisters of the West. t
Attracted, no doubt, by the hope of a few paras by way of
remuneration, a party of those strange wanderers on the face
of the earth, those Arabs of every land, the Gipsies, with
their swarthy complexions, bright black eyes, and raven elf-
like locks, were about to enliven the scene with a concert al.
fresco upon an uncouth-looking instrument of two strings,
something resembling a guitar, and a species of noisy tam-
bourine, the discordant sounds of which soon drove us from
the spot.
Our attention was next arrested by a party of coal-black
Ethiopians, stretched at full length, or merely resting on an
elbow, beneath the shade of a wide-spreading plane,—Savage
and untamed children of the desert, as their wild gestures,
fierce rolling eyes, and barbarous taste for Ornament, displaying
itself in wearing a gold ring in the nose, in addition to one in
each ear, proclaimed them to be. They had probably recently
arrived from the burning plains of their distant home to be
enrolled among the Sultan's guards.
Presenting a strong contrast to the grave and decorous
demeanour of the true Osmanli, were the lively gestures and
quick motions of a group of Smart-looking Arnouts, their
bright crimson jackets richly embroidered in gold, ample
196 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
white foustamelle, and gay-coloured leggings contributing in
no slight degree to the brilliant effect of this vast assemblage
of different costumes. Forming a portion of this group,
Several fair forms, and, above all, unveiled faces, attracted our
attention, some of them strikingly beautiful; one, in par-
ticular, might have been taken as the model of the “Maid of
Athens.”
To particularise all the different groups, Circassian, Geor-
gian, Persian, Syrian, and even Arab, to describe all the
various dresses of this vast bal-costumé de toutes les nations,
would, however, be an endless task; it must be seen to be
appreciated. Still, we cannot conclude without noticing the
flitting forms of pedlars, storytellers, musicians, dancing-girls,
venders of sherbet, ices, water, and sweetmeats, now lost
among the dark shadows of the cypress and plantain groves,
now emerging into the bright sunshine which rested on the
open sward; conspicuous among whom were the children of
Israel, with their strongly marked, unmistakeable features,
long beards, and flowing garments; together with the Arme-
nian, in his silken gown trimmed with fur, and high conical
cap; and last, but not least, the familiar forms of various
parties of Frank visitors, many of them evidently but just
arrived from the great cities of Western Europe and America,
were surveying this brilliant living panorama, for the first
time presented to their gaze, with mingled astonishment and
delight. Bewildered, puzzled, amused, and attracted by all
they saw and heard, their ejaculations of amazement, their
naïve and original remarks, were not a little amusing, as they
wandered through this dazzling assemblage of the children of
the “Clime of the Sun;” looking, in their dark, sober-tinted
garments, like so many crows among a vast flock of iris-hued
paroquets and birds of paradise.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 197
TURKISH Soldiery.
CHAPTER XV.
Progress of Turkey as a military power—Sultan Abdul Medjid—his character—
Turkish soldiery—their discipline—equipment–Organization of the Turkish
army–The nary–Demoralizing effects of the conscription–Reforms of the
Sultan–Difficulties the Government has to contend against—Influence of
foreigners in Turkey–The late Cosrew Pacha—his extraordinary elevation to
power—Halil Pacha—Omar Pacha—sketch of his military career.
WE were highly interested in witnessing the rapid advance
the Turkish army has made in European discipline since our
first visit to Constantinople, in 1836; but the Turks are by
nature and habit a warlike people; and though the late
Sultan Mahmoud had great difficulty in conquering their
Mahometan prejudices, the Nizam have become far more

198 & TURKEY, RUSSIA,
effective troops than any one who witnessed their clumsily
executed evolutions at that time would have expected.
Poor Sultan Mahmoud how often have we seen him
manoeuvring his awkward recruits, looking the beau ideal
of an Eastern warrior. His son, Abdul Medjid, is very infe-
rior in personal appearance to his noble father; still, in the
Oriental arched eyebrow, the large and serious eye, the proud
expression of the mouth, and general dignified demeanour,
you may trace a descendant of the race that first planted the
Crescent in Europe. Like most princes, he is an admirable
equestrian; and it is thus he is seen to the best advantage,
particularly when it is his pleasure to manoeuvre a squadron
of cavalry. It is true, he is mild, gentle, and humane—
perhaps too much so for the present crisis—dislikes war, and
it is even whispered that the solution of the quarrel with
Russia would be peaceable if it depended upon him. This
suspicion of his repugnance to war has somewhat lowered
him in the estimation of his subjects, and probably encou-
raged the vulgar insolence of Prince Menschikoff, who, no
doubt, believing he was negotiating with another Boabdil El
Chico, expected he should gain his point by assuming a
threatening attitude; but Turkey is not yet without her
Musas, and unless we are much mistaken, their desperate
courage will teach the proud Moscovite before the war is
over, that if they are doomed to fall, it will not be without
a dreadful struggle.
A traveller from the West, accustomed as he has been to
picture to his imagination the Turkish soldier in his Oriental
dress—the ample Shalwar, braided jacket, turban of many
folds, and red sash filled with pistols and poniards—is apt as
his eye rests on the modern tactico, in his uncouth, ill-made
European uniform, to consider him the mere ghost of his
fiery, dashing ancestor; whereas if he were habited in the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 199
ancient warlike costume, he would be as martial a looking
fellow as ever followed the standard of the Prophet.
Granting that the military bearing of the tactico is not
quite equal to the standard of Hyde Park and the Champs
de Mars, he is not without his good qualities. He is more
patient in adversity, more hardy in his habits than most
Europeans; while his contempt for the comforts of life cannot
be too highly prized. His bed, which at best is only a bit
of Carpet or a mat, is easily carried, serves him alike in the
tent and the barracks; and few soldiers are provided with
a more serviceable garment than his capital rough cloak
with a hood, which protects him by day from the inclemency
of the weather, and by night answers all the purposes of a
blanket to sleep in.
Again, the Turkish soldier is not one of those outcasts of
a crowded city—a convicted thief or vagabond—that you so
frequently meet in the armies of civilized Europe, but a
hardy peasant from the plough, or some shepherd of the
mountain, simple and unsophisticated; an honest Maho-
metan, who, however much he may at first dislike the Ser-
vice, and curse in his heart the tyranny of the conscription
that tore him from the parental roof, yet having uttered his
Mash-allah, and sworn on the Koran to be true to his Sultan,
resigns himself to his fate, and manfully does his duty.
Moreover, the regular pay of about four shillings a month of
our money, clear of stoppages, and plenty of his favourite
dish, the pillaw, barley cakes, and yaourte, tend to reconcile
him to his new position; and, everything considered, he is
much better paid and fed than the majority of the soldiers
of continental Europe. *
As might be expected in an army composed of Maho-
metans, where the drink of the soldier is yaourte, those scenes
of drunkenness and rioting so frequent among the soldiers
200 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
of Christian Europe, are unknown; and whether it is owing
to this abstinence from intoxicating drinks, or their hardy
habits, or to both, they are certainly less liable to sickness,
less susceptible of the influence of climate, and all the hard-
ships and fatigue incident to the life of a military man. We
have also been frequently assured by their Frank instructors,
that no men, whatever may be their country, exhibited more
aptitude for warlike pursuits, or more cheerfulness in obeying
the commands of their superiors; and this is the more
remarkable when we remember that corporal punishment is
entirely banished from the Turkish army. In fact, that
shuffling, slipshod fellow you see lounging about the streets,
who calls forth many a contemptuous sneer from the newly-
arrived Frank traveller, notwithstanding his unpromising
exterior, has in him the raw material of an excellent soldier;
indeed, there is such docility and earnestness about him, and
in everything he does, that with good training, he may be
rendered fit for almost anything. No soldier executes his
movements in battalion with greater precision and celerity,
and none wheel into line with more regularity; and although
we might conclude from the familiarity observable between
the officers and men, that there must be a want of discipline,
and consequent insubordination, it is not so ; and when this
does occur, it is generally caused by the want of courage and
military capability in the officer.
The mode of arming, even to the equipment of the men,
with the exception of the fez, is French. Enlistment by
conscription, and the period of active service, is also the
same, commencing at eighteen, and continuing for Seven
years; with this difference, that in case of war, a Turkish
soldier may again be called out, to serve five years longer.
The artillery has been organized after the Prussian system,
and the Redifs on the same plan as the Nizam.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 201
The Redifs, after the labours of the field are over in
autumn, are summoned to the chief town of their pachalik,
where they receive their arms and equipments, and are regu-
garly exercised for a month, living in tents, leading the life
and receiving the pay of regular soldiers. In consequence of
this system, although the regular army in Turkey consists
only of 150,000 men, the Sultan is able to call into active
service, if necessary, 500,000 men, including the Bashi
boZouk. For this system, which is somewhat similar to the
Prussian landwehr, the Turkish government is indebted to
its Prussian military instructors; and to these able officers it
also owes the very effective state of the Turkish artillery, and
also the various strong fortifications that have been recently
erected. -
The whole active army in Turkey is divided into six grand
corps—each corps consisting of 30,000 men, of all arms—
corresponding to the six military divisions of the French
army. It is scarcely necessary to repeat that the entire
army is composed of Mahometans, nor to add how much it
is to be regretted that this odious barrier should still exist
after a rule of 400 years, between the conquerors and the
conquered, seeing that the Christians are equally fellow-
citizens, equally interested in defence of their common
country, their hearths and homes, with the Mahometan.
The want of a well-organized medical staff, to which we
alluded in a former work, has been in some measure supplied
by the encouragement offered by the Sultan to European
professional men, who now enjoy all the privileges accorded
to a Mahometan, without renouncing their religious opinions.
Had the same indulgence been extended to European officers
—who, being Christian, can hold no rank beyond that of
instructors, or in other words, drill-sergeants—the Turkish
army would have been in a far better position to meet the
302 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Russians than it is at the present moment. The Turks
would also have learned, what they never can from a teacher,
the practical advantages to be derived from organization
and a well-conducted État-major. The want of this is now
severely felt, and must have led to the most disastrous con-
sequences, had it not been for the timely introduction of so
many experienced refugee officers, Poles and Hungarians,
into the Turkish army. It is scarcely credible that at the
commencement of the war there was not another officer in
the service beside Omar Pacha, with sufficient ability to
take the command of the army.
Surely the Sultan and his government must now be aware
that, unless they follow the example of Peter of Russia, and
enlist into their service the talent of the West, thereby
securing an effective staff of naval and military officers,
there can be no well-grounded hope of succeeding in a
war with Russia. As for the Osmanli Effendi, no sooner
does he become rich, and establish himself in comfort,
with his harem, wives, and slaves, than he sinks down into
what we should term in England a tame, indolent, spiritless
drone.
The marine,” notwithstanding the disasters of Navarino,
and we may now add the late massacre at Sinope, is in
a tolerably efficient state. It owes its restoration to the
famous Tahir; and its discipline, in a great measure, to Sir
Baldwin Walker and his successor, Captain Slade—two as
able and excellent officers as ever paced the deck of a man-
of-war.
* Previous to the massacre at Sinope, the Turkish navy consisted of six ships
of the line, from 74 to 90 guns, and from 600 to 900 men; eleven frigates from
52 to 64 guns, and from 150 to 500 men : twelve corvettes, from 18 to 48 guns,
and from 100 to 250 men; fourteen cutters, schooners, &c.; six steam frigates,
of from 500 to 800 horse power; eight corvettes, and a number of brigs and
Smaller vessels.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 203
Among the military establishments at Constantinople
deserving attention, are the barracks at Scutari, built upon an
eminence; a very fine edifice, and so vast as to afford accom-
modation for 10,000 men. The school of the guards also
deserves a visit. Namuk Pacha, one of the most active and
intelligent Osmanli of the day, may be said to be its founder;
an establishment which has done more towards disciplinizing
the Turkish army than any other institution formed in
accordance with European principles. The pupils, in addi-
tion to being instructed in military factics, receive a liberal
education; the latter, however, is a difficult undertaking,
when we remember the number of nationalities of which the
Turkish empire is composed; even the Mahometan population
is divided into Arabs, Egyptians, Kurds, Albanians, Bosnians,
&c., all speaking different languages, and none of them
thoroughly acquainted with the Turkish, a great hindrance,
if no other existed, to the rapid progress of a people in know-
ledge and civilization.
The worst thing in connexion with the military, and that
which detracts most from the martial appearance of the men,
is their ill-made, ill-cut clothes, of the very coarsest materials.
The fez also is not a head-dress well adapted for a soldier; for
however jaunty and picturesque it may appear with its blue
tassel on the head of a Greek or an Albanian, dressed in his
braided jacket and foustamelle, the form adopted by the
Turk is far less graceful and becoming, since it is high in the
crown, and padded; besides this, it rests on the ears, and as
these appendages to the head of a Turk are frequently out of
proportion, and protrude, it is certainly more advisable to
conceal than exhibit them. At best the fez is a poor substi-
tute for the Eastern turban, whose ample folds had at least
the advantage of defending the head from the rays of the
Sun and the stroke of a Sabre. At present, the only article
204 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
we can admire in the dress of the military is the cloak worm
by the officers, which being fastened at the throat by a gold
clasp, enriched with a brilliant, and descending in ample
folds below the knee, is at once warlike and elegant.
Among the grievances of the Mahometans, of which they
complain bitterly, is the conscription. In the best or-
dered countries it is both demoralizing and oppressive, but
enforcing a system so opposed to the spirit of the Koran,
among a Mahometan population, wedded as they are to their
civil rights, has been one of the causes which of late years
have led to those frequent insurrections which are gradually
depopulating the country. Still it is not so much the con-
Scription as the arbitrary manner of enforcing it that consti-
tutes the hardship. For instance, a Pacha, governor of a dis-
trict, receives an order from government to furnish a certain
number of men on a given day. This civil and military
officer, instead of having recourse to the legitimate method
by lot, places himself at the head of a military detachment,
attacks a village, and after a severe fight succeeds in carrying
off all the able-bodied men he can capture, without regard to
their rank or circumstances, provided they pass muster at
head quarters. -* e
We alluded more at length to the pernicious effects of the
conscription in our late work on Turkey; we showed how
whole villages have been deserted since its adoption, and
entire districts that were once cultivated turned into a desert;
we described how frequently we met with hundreds of these
poor conscripts, bound together like criminals, and driven at
the point of the bayonet to the nearest dépôt. We also
alluded to another of these grievances, the change of system
in the tenure of land, and the destruction of all the heredi-
tary fiefdoms belonging to the Mahometans of Albania and
Bosnia. It is true, wested rights in the subject have been at
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 205
all times, and in all ages, disregarded by an Asiatic ruler
when state policy demanded that some specific measure
should be enforced ; and what Sultan Mahmoud, the de-
stroyer of the janissaries, commenced, has been carried
into effect by his son, but unhappily at the expense of a
fearful loss of life, in a series of insurrections, which required
all the tact and ability of Omar Pacha to subdue.
Previous to this unlucky measure, the state had always at
its command a splendid force of irregular cavalry in the con-
tingents furnished by the various Beys, Kapitanis, and Spahis,
who held the land by military tenure. These were the men
who in former days, when the sultans of Turkey warred with
the infidel, rallied round the standard of the Crescent, and
carried terror into the heart of Europe. No doubt it was
found that so long as this powerful Mahometan party re-
tained their influence in the country, there was no hope of
reform—no prospect of ameliorating the condition of the
rayah. On the other hand, it cannot be denied but that
Turkey, in a military point of view, has sustained a severe
loss in the bravery of these gallant warriors, who were
accustomed to bring into the field 150,000 men, and more
than once saved the empire from ruin; their want, we fear,
will now be sensibly felt, if the rayah should take up arms
and join his co-religionists, the Russians.
With every disposition to speak well of the Turks,—for at
the present moment our interests and those of civilization are
identical with theirs, still it would be unwise if we did not
point out to our readers what is faulty in the administration,
and in what consists the real weakness of the Turkish empire,
in order to be prepared against such contingencies as may
arise. And most assuredly, every traveller who has wan-
dered so much in Turkey as we have done, and witnessed
the grievances of every class, both Mahometan and Chris-
206 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
tian, together with the great difficulties everywhere opposing
the endeavours of the executive to establish something like
harmony among the incongruous nationalities, creeds, and
races that acknowledge the Ottoman rule, must feel per-
suaded that the Turks have now entered one of the most
dangerous periods of their eventful history.
We shall therefore conclude our present notice of Turkey
with a slight sketch of what the Turkish government has
already done in reforming the misrule of centuries, and the
difficulties it had to contend with. A few years later, in all
probability, it would have succeeded in establishing an ad-
ministration equally acceptable to Christian and Mahometan,
had it not been interrupted in its laudable career by the
present war. -
The 3d of November, 1839, when the Hatti Scheriff was
read to the people in the vast plain of Gulhana, ought to have
been a great and glorious day to the Christian subjects of the
Sultan, who were then told, after nearly four centuries of
political, civil, and religious slavery, that all mankind were
equal, and that from henceforth there was to be no distinc-
tion between the professors of any creed —an attempt of
the sovereign to return to the old institutions of the Ottoman
Sultans, which were, in fact, a pure democracy, ruled over by
a chief who was more a theocrat than an autocrat ; but the
difficulty lay in reconciling the two opposing creeds,-in
uniting in one ruler the authority of Caliph over the Maho-
metan, and Pontiff over the Christian.
It is scarcely necessary to remind those who are conversant
with the recent history of the Ottoman empire how this con-
cession, so tolerant, and apparently so conducive to the Wel-
fare of the people, led to insurrection among the Mahometans
wherever there was an ambitious chieftain, or a bigoted
Moullah, to take advantage of the fanaticism of their co-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 207
religionists. Still, although the Hatti Scheriff of Gulhana
has been the cause of much trouble to the executive, and
more than once reduced the empire to the verge of ruin, it
has nevertheless paved the way for political and social pro-
gress, and proved in every respect a blessing to the long-
oppressed rayah population. However much it might have
been abused by their Mahometan fellow-subjects, the law of
the land secured to them certain privileges which could not
be infringed with impunity; above all, capital punishment
could not be inflicted without a trial and the consent of the
Sultan, nor private property confiscated without inquiry, nor
a temple of Christian worship arbitrarily closed.
The form of the administrative government had also
become more European. The Grand Vizier filled the office
of prime minister; the Sheik al Islam, minister of justice;
the Seraskier, minister of war; a Capidan Pacha, minister of
marine; together with ministers of finance, commerce, and
public works. Allowing that much slovenliness was exhibited
on the part of the executive, and not a little oppression and
extortion on the part of the subordinates in the provinces,
from this time a material change for the better took place in
the administration of public affairs, particularly after the
gallant Omar Pasha had succeeded in repressing the various
revolutionary movements of the Mahometan malcontents.
Tranquillity at length was restored, and every probability
existed that after a few years, when the inhabitants of Turkey,
both Christian and Mahometan, became more intimately
acquainted with the liberal sentiments of the multitude of
well-educated intellectual foreigners that visited the country,
they would ultimately throw aside their fanatic exclusiveness,
and become members of the great European family. But
this formed no part of the policy of Russia; the possession
of Constantinople, with the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles,
208 TCRKEY, RUSSIA,
was with her a fixed, settled purpose. She saw that if the
Turks were left unmolested, their increased knowledge and
the tolerance and liberality of the Government would render
them a very formidable adversary. Besides, her semi-
barbarian hordes, like those who followed the standard
of Attila and Alaric, must be allowed to obey the impulse
which ever prompts them to quit their ice-bound, barren
steppes, and seek a more comfortable home in the land of
the Sun.
To those who know Turkey, the ignorance and fanaticism
of the lower classes, and the incorrigible indolence of the
wealthy effendis, it must appear Surprising that she had made
any progress in those reforms she so much needed, particu-
larly when we remember the incessant intrigues of Russia to
prevent the employment of a clever foreigner in any depart-
ment of public service. Fortunately, the Sultan had in his
employment several men of very superior abilities, who aided
him most powerfully by their advice and exertions in carry-
ing out his different measures of reform; and it does not say
much in favour of the intellectual attainments of the wealthy
effendi, that every one of those faithful ministers was of the
very lowest class.
Cosrew Pacha, one of the most trusted advisers of the late
and the present Sultan, to whom we were indebted for many
kind offices on our first visit to Constantinople, was a Circas-
sian slave. After filling in succession the highest offices in
the state up to Seraskier and Grand Vizier, he died at a
very advanced age, it is said, nearly a hundred. Halil
Pacha, his adopted son, who also filled the highest offices in
the state, commenced life as a slave; his elevation to the
position of son-in-law of Sultan Mahmoud was almost unpre-
cedented even in such a democratic country as Turkey. We
may say the same of Riza Pacha, who from being a waiter in
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 209
a coffee-house gradually advanced step by step till he also
became the son-in-law of the Sultan. . .
It appears that Halil Pacha, who was the son of Christian
parents, was first a slave to a wealthy Armenian, then to a
Turkish effendi, and afterwards to Cosrew, who, seeing he
possessed very superior natural talents, had him educated
with great care; and, finding his conduct uniformly good,
and his disposition kind and tractable, not only adopted
him as his son, but through his powerful influence with the
Sultan prevailed with him to bestow upon his protégé the
hand of his favourite daughter.
Cosrew was an accurate judge of character. Of this we
have another instance in Omar Pacha, who has also been
indebted to him for much of his success in life. This gallant
general, who up to the present time has made the Russians
eat more dirt than ever they did before in their wars with
Turkey, was not originally a slave, it is true, but he arrived
in Turkey a friendless refugee. After embracing Islamism,
he was invested by CoSrew, who was at that time Seraskier,
with the rank of officer in the Nizam. The penetrating eye
of his patron soon discovered that the young foreigner had
more genius, talent, and enterprise, than the majority of the
Moslem officers in the army; consequently, he never omitted
an opportunity of advancing the interests of a man who, he
felt certain, would prove a valuable servant of the Sultan in
the hour of need.
Turing our séjour in Constantinople in 1836, we had fre-
quent interviews with Cosrew respecting the proposed admis-
sion of English officers into the Turkish army. Omar was
at this time attached to the personal staff of the Seraskier;
and his handsome person, gentlemanly manners, and the
fluency with which he spoke German, French, and Italian,
impressed us with the opinion that he was a singularly
P
210 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
favourable specimen of an Osmanli. Indeed, we had our
misgivings as to the genuineness of his title to be considered
a son of Othman, grounded on his very superior intelligence,
and his European style of walking.
When we last saw this very extraordinary man, it was at
Scopia,” in Macedonia, where we with some difficulty recog-
mised in the lion of the day the unknown aide-de-camp and
secretary of COSrew, the Seraskier. He was then preparing,
at the head of a large army, to take the field against the
insurgent Mahometans of Albania and Bosnia. It was in
quelling the insurrections in Syria and Albania that he first
eminently distinguished himself. In Kurdistan he was equally
fortunate; but the most important service he rendered the
Turkish Government was in subduing the revolt of the beys
and spahis in Bosnia, where, with a very inferior force, he
triumphed in every engagement. In short, throughout his
whole career he has not only displayed military talents of no
common order, but the tact and ability of an enlightened
legislator. Ever the friend of the poor rayah, he became
the idol of that long-despised race, and at the same time
retained the attachment of the Moslems. Indeed, since his
advent to power, he has done more to allay the differences
between the members of the many rival creeds in Turkey
than any other man of his day.
* See Travels in European Turkey in 1851, vol. ii. p. 27. Colburn & Co.
- º
º
WARNA.
CHAPTER XVI.
Russia—The Black Sea—Circassia–Progress of Russia in the East–0bservations
upon the war in the Caucasus–Facility of attacking Russia on the Black Sea—
Public opinion in Europe with reference to Russia–Dangers to be apprehended
to the civilization and independence of Europe, from Russia.
HISTORY has rarely had to record anything more marvellous
than the change of feeling that has taken place in the public
mind of Europe within the last few months. Christian and
Mahometan, despot and republican, priest and liberal, all
agreeing—all uniting upon one point—how, or by what
means, the aggression of Russia might most effectually be
resisted. What a proud moment for the barbarians of the
North, who little more than a century ago were scarcely
known by name! and how humiliating to Europe! As we

212 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
are now about to enter the dominions of the mighty autocrat
that all the world fears, we shall commence our narrative
with a glance at the Black Sea, and its connexion with the
present war. Having already written a series of articles on
the Eastern question in the “United Service Magazine,” we
shall extract a portion of that entitled the “Black Sea,”*
because we could not write anything that would better convey
our ideas, or give the reader a more correct conception of
the political and social state of the various races that inhabit
its shores, and of the important influence that France and
England may there exercise in a war with Russia. .
The war at present raging between Turkey and Russia, to
which we had occasion so frequently to allude, is confessedly of
the last importance to the general interests of Europe; and as
it has now extended to those countries bordering on the Black
Sea, so long and so carefully shrouded by Russian policy from
the inquisitive gaze of the inhabitants of the civilized West, we
cannot but anticipate that new and almost unexplored regions
will be opened to their inquiries. Indeed, if no other effect
ensued than Securing for the future the free navigation of
this sea to the fleets of every nation, thereby putting an end
to the imaginary right of proprietorship claimed by Russia
and Turkey, a great advantage would be obtained. Here we
shall undoubtedly find the most vulnerable portion of the domi-
nions of the Tzar; and perhaps in no part of the whole Russian
empire could a blow be struck more effectually, or felt more
acutely. With the exception of Sebastopol, undoubtedly
a place of great strength, the entire coast of the Black Sea,
including Besserabia, the Crimea, Circassia, Immeretia, Min-
grelia, and Gourial, on to Fort St. Nicholas adjoining the
Turkish frontier, may be said to lie open to the attack of an
* Colburn’s United Service Magazine, January 1, 1854. It may be necessary
to observe that the author reserved to himself the right of republication.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 213
enemy. It is true, a line of inconsiderable forts skirts the coast
of Circassia; but, as these have been constructed chiefly with
a view of holding in check a semi-barbarous people, unac-
quainted with the science of war, not one of those defensive
positions could resist half an hour's bombardment, in the
event of either France or England assuming the offensive.
Nay, even without firing a gun, a blockade of a few weeks
would suffice to starve their garrisons into surrendering;
because they depend entirely for their supplies upon the
Russian cruisers, and have nothing to expect from the exas-
perated mountaineers in their rear but utter extermination.
If we turn to the Crimea and Besserabia, with their Tatar
population, German colonists, Bulgarians, Wallachians, French
and Swiss, we shall find them all discontented with the iron
rule of the Tzar. The same may be said in a still higher
degree of the inhabitants of Georgia and Immeretia, Min-
grelia, Gourial, and Russian Armenia. The Tatars especially,
allied as they are by race and creed to the Osmanli, we feel
confident, would rise to a man, if they saw the slightest
hope of emancipating themselves and their country. As to
the Circassians, the mere presence of an English man-of-war
would be sufficient to arouse every man capable of bearing
arms, from the Black Sea to the Caspian. We do not make
this assertion on the testimony of mere hearsay, but from
information obtained during an extensive tour in these
countries. -
. Up to the present time, fortunately for Russia, the vision
of European statesmen rarely or never attempted to penetrate
the mist that has so long hovered over the countries bordering
on the Black Sea. Of what importance could the Euxine,
proverbially the home of the tempest and the hurricane, be to
them 7 or what interest could they have in the subjugation
or destruction of the semi-barbarians that peopled its shores?
214 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Russia judged otherwise. She knew the strength and the
value of a position which would enable her to continue her con-
quests in Asia. She knew that the Caucasus was the key to all
her projected encroachments upon Turkey, Persia, and India;
and to obtain it was for her a stern political necessity.
At the time we published our first work upon these coun-
tries, we endeavoured, not only by writing in periodicals, but
in several interviews with her Majesty's Ministers and some
of the most distinguished statesmen of the day, to create a
feeling in favour of the gallant mountaineers of the Caucasus.
Our exertions, unfortunately, were unavailing ; the excite-
ment caused by the war in Circassia passed away; and the
heroes who were actually fighting the battles of Europe and
civilization were left to perish, uncared for by those very
nations who benefited by the sacrifice. They either did not,
or would not, acknowledge the fact, that So long as the
Caucasus remained unsubdued, a barrier existed impassable
to Russian ambition. Nay, our representations of the grasp-
ing policy pursued by that aggressive power in those coun-
tries, and our apprehensions of the fall of Turkey and Persia,
followed by the invasion of India, were deemed by some
exaggerated, and by others chimerical ; and that by men
whose recognised abilities and intelligence gave weight and
authority to their opinions.
How changed is the position of affairs, and how completely
do these altered circumstances confirm the view we then took
of the question | If the measure had been adopted which we
recommended at page 64 of our “Travels in the Western
Caucasus,” of sending a competent marine force into the
Euxine—a measure earnestly desired by the Ottoman govern-
ment, and which would have opened the Black Sea and the
Danube, as highways for the commerce of the world,—Cir-
Cassia would now be in the peaceful enjoyment of its inde-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, 215
pendence, Turkey and Persia delivered from their hereditary
enemy, while the blessings of industry, commerce, and
civilization would have spread among the inhabitants of those
vast countries on the Black Sea, which now lie inert and
torpid beneath the benumbing influence of a power that has
ever shown itself more solicitous to obtain from its subjects
taxes and conscripts than to advance their prosperity and
intelligence.
But although the heroic efforts of the mountaineers of the
Caucasus to preserve their independence were regarded at that
time as a matter of little consequence to Europe, the allies of
the Ottoman Porte are not likely to remain insensible to the
value of their aid in the present day; since the important
diversion they are now exercising under their renowned
leader, Schamyl Bey, by giving sufficient occupation to Russia
to defend her Asiatic possessions, not only enables Omar
Pacha to guard Turkey in Europe, but threatens the most
disastrous consequences to Russia in this part of her domi-
nions. For let it be remembered, they regard the Sultan as
the spiritual head of their Church, and are consequently
united to Turkey by that chain of sympathy which binds
together every True Believer in the hour of danger.
It is not so much the bravery of the people, as the political
influence of Islamism, which, by raising a rampart around the.
Caucasus, has enabled them to preserve their independence
up to the present time; whereas their neighbours, the inha-
bitants of Immeretia and Gourial, Mingrelia and Georgia,
although occupying a country easy to be defended, soon fell
beneath the sway of the invaders; because the majority were
members of the Greek Church, and, by accepting the tempt-
ing offer of protection from the mighty ruler of all the
Russias, sealed their fate. Hence, however much we may
condemn the creed of Mahomet in a religious point of view,
216 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
it must be confessed that it has the effect of promoting
unanimity among its members, and does not encourage
slavery. In fact, the Koran is the charter which ensures to a
True Believer his privileges—the shield against oppression—
the substitute for constitutional rights—the ruler that all obey
—the arbiter of every difference—the guarantee that faith
shall be kept inviolate—the lawgiver which all classes, high
and low, obey. It also levels the distinctions between man
and man, and raises the most degraded serf who accepts it as
his guide of faith, to the social rank of the wealthiest noble.
It is this spirit of equality, diffused among all classes, which
has conduced in no inconsiderable degree to the great success
of Islamism, and attracted to its standard so large a portion
of the human race; and it may be now, in the hour of danger,
the means of preserving the Turkish empire.
It might be presumed that a Creed embracing so much
that is admirable as a legislative code, would tend to elevate
its members to a high state of prosperity, civilization, and
political influence; yet history tells us the contrary, and
shows that it only suits man in a certain state of civilization,
out of which it is of no value.
But to return to the inhabitants of the Caucasus. It is
scarcely necessary to observe, that this difference in creed has
left Russia without her usual pretext for interfering in the
religious affairs of the inhabitants of the Caucasus—the
champion of the Cross could not become the protector of the
children of the Crescent ; consequently, he had no other means
of subjugating them to his rule than a cruel and expensive
war, which has been gradually wasting the resources of his
empire. Yet, notwithstanding the blood and treasure so pro-
digally lavished, he has not advanced one step nearer to the
conquest of the Caucasus than when he commenced the con-
test. How glorious, then—how deserving our warmest admi-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 217
.*
ration, has been the unceasing struggle of these gallant
mountaineers, when we remember the gigantic strength of
their enemy, and all the combinations of Science, discipline,
and intrigue, employed against them by one of the cleverest
and most unprincipled cabinets in the world.
During the extensive and repeated tours we made in the
various countries of Russia and Turkey bordering on the
Black Sea, the Caspian, and the Lower Danube, the convic-
tion, as we have frequently stated in former works, was forced
upon us, that, sooner or later, they would become the battle-
fields of the Old World; and the events of to-day prove the
correctness of the conclusion. And how many changes have
taken place since the volumes describing these tours were
published What fearful scenes of civil strife have been acted
what deadly feuds have arisen between the supporters of
despotism and free institutions ! what almost incredible pro-
gress has been made by mankind in general intelligence and
civilization what an entire alteration in the public opinion
of Europe! Russia was then regarded as the champion of
Tivine Right, the guardian of social order, the immoveable
rock against which the troubled waves of democracy might
beat in vain This belief and these feelings lie buried among
the things which have been ; the present generation has
adopted other views, learned a sad and ominous lesson. It
now knows what is meant by Russian moderation, Russian
protection, in the multitude of territories, large, rich, and
fertile, incorporated in that immense mass of nationalities
called the Russian empire! Was she not protector of Poland
and Courland'ſ of the Crimea and Georgia? of Immeretia,
Mingrelia, and Gourial? and now she would become the Pro-
tectorate over the fifteen millions of Christian subjects of the
Sultan in Europe and Asia | º
Can we, then, wonder that distrust and apprehension for the
218 TURREY, RUSSIA,
future should have succeeded to confidence? or that men of
the strongest minds, and least susceptible of being alarmed by
passing events, should come to the conclusion that the meteor
which now blazes over the civilized world, before its course is
run, will leave behind it a trail, the marks of which will never
be effaced? May it not be one of blood, desolation, and ruin!
The greatest misfortunes which have ever befallen the civili-
zation of mankind, have proceeded from the inroads of the
barbarians of those very countries over which the Tzars of
Russia hold absolute dominion. Imagine, them, an invasion of
the countless hordes of Siberia, and all those vast lands that
extend to the confines of China! Imagine the destruction, if
these soldiers of rapine descended on Germany, France, and
Italy, on one side, and on India on the other! That they
have been in military training for some such purpose, we
know to a certainty; and recent events sufficiently tell us
that the spirit of Attila, Ghenghis Khan, and Tamerlane, is
not extinct in Russia. w
We came to this conclusion several years ago, after an
extensive tour in South Russia and those various countries
bordering on the Black Sea and the Caspian; and the remarks
we then made are so applicable to the present crisis, and so
illustrative of the aggressive tendencies of Russia, that we can-
not refrain from giving the extract in full. After alluding
to the colossal magnitude of the works we witnessed at Sebas-
topol, the vast size and strength of the arsenals, dock-yards,
and barracks, the energy, mind, and enterprising spirit of the
present emperor, displayed in the minutest object that bore
on war, or the internal and external defence of his widely
extended empire, the incessant drilling of troops for the army
and navy, the wild hordes of Siberia and Eastern Tartary
congregated with Cossacks of the Don, the Tchermemorsky
Cossacks, and the natives of Old Moscovy, their hardy habits.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 219
and capabilities as soldiers, we concluded the chapter in these
words—which at least shows that we were inspired from all
we saw with a sort of prescience of what was to come.*
“With an army composed of such men, if properly disci-
plined, and led on by a real military genius, vast enterprises
might be accomplished, more particularly when excited by
the fiery ardour of the Cossack, and the warlike hordes of
Asia—men by nature and education totally different from
the phlegmatic Moscovite, and whose glory is war and
rapine.
“Having already, when describing Sebastopol and other
maritime stations, shown the gigantic efforts made by Russia
to improve her military and naval force, and strengthen her
fortified positions, notwithstanding the numerous difficulties
she had to contend with, we must come to the conclusion,
that the cabinet of St. Petersburg, whose measures ever
evince Sagacity and long-sightedness, meditates at no very
distant period. Some enterprise of the wastest importance.
Unfortunately the friendly and peaceable disposition formerly
manifested by the Russian government towards England no
longer exists; distrust has succeeded to confidence, and the
two powers now seem to regard each other with mutual
though smothered animosity, which will probably, when
Russia finds herself sufficiently strong, break out in an open
rupture. Do we not see her diplomatists, in every part of
the world, with their numerous clever agents, undermining
our interests, commercial and political, as if we were the
only obstacle that opposed their unhallowed purpose of
subjugating the nations? Do we not even hear her press,
speaking under the inspiration of the government, threaten-
ing us in such words as these, which we extracted from the
* Travels, in Circassia, vol. ii. p. 20. 3d Edition, 1839.
220 º TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Moscow Gazette. “Go on! go on! debt-burdened Albion ;
thy hour is not yet come, but be assured we shall soon teach
thee a lesson at Calcutta!’ -
“Indeed the signs of the times, the clashing of interests,
the supineness, weakness, and imbecility of too many of the
European and Asiatic powers at the present day, all indicate,
to say the least, the probability that the day is not far distant
when we may be called upon to curb the steed that would
trample us down. How necessary then is it, if we regard
the menacing position so lately assumed by Russia—her dark
insidious policy—the craft and subtlety employed by her
diplomatists in furthering their measures at the expense of
every opponent, that our government, nay, the whole nation
should arouse themselves, not only by watching her every
movement, and counteracting her ambitious Schemes in every
part of the world, but, if circumstances should render it
necessary, by an appeal to arms!
“On the contrary, if slumbering in fancied security we take
no steps to assert our rights and guard our interests, in a few
years, when the nationality of the brave inhabitants of Poland
and the Caucasus, who now implore our protection, is
destroyed,—when Turkey and Persia shall be chained to the
chariot-wheels of their conqueror on his march to India,
when our commerce shall have passed into other channels,
we shall regret our Supineness when activity can no longer
avail, mourn over our short-sightedness when the auguries
of ill shall have been fulfilled, and lament when it is too
late that we did not boldly advance and anticipate the evil,
instead of waiting until, in its increased magnitude, every
prospect of successfully opposing it will have become—shall
I Say!—hopeless.”
To show the correctness of the views we at that time enter-
tained of the aggressive spirit of Russian policy, we shall
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 221
give an extract from another of our works, “Travels in the
Western Caucasus.”—(Vol. i. p. 53.)
“We know the object our government (the English) has
in view is the preservation of peace, to conciliate the anti-
war party, and the repugnance entertained by a large
majority to interpose in the affairs of foreign nations. How
vain are their hopes | how futile their endeavours! They
ought to take example from the story of the Man and the
ASS in the fable, for by their timid measures, and endeavours
to maintain peace, they only increase the evil by deferring it
to a future day,+for at an earlier or a later period war is
inevitable — I say, at an earlier or a later period we shall be
called upon to defend our Eastern empire, an empire that
has been in every age the magnet of attraction to the half-
military, half-Savage tribes that have desolated the earth in
their marauding expeditions in search of plunder, and is now
coveted with the keenest desire by the semi-barbarous hordes
of Russia; a desire which that power takes good care to pro-
pagate among her needy subjects, the name of India ringing
as cheerily in the ears of a Cossack or a Russo-Tatar, as the
merry peal announcing his marriage. How often have we
seen these fellows, while bivouacking with the Russian troops
On the banks of the Don and the Kouban, at the mere men-
tion of a prospect of marching to the land of pearls and
diamonds, Caper like so many half-crazed dervishes |
“We repeat, the Emperor of Russia must advance; any
Symptom of Wavering, any check to the progress of the
mighty engine of which he is the compulsory director, would
produce a moral concussion of plots, conspiracies, and, perhaps,
assassination; in short, all the horrors a discontented soldiery
are capable of perpetrating. But who can foresee the termi-
nation of his career At all events, he cannot remain inactive;
for such have been the repeated victories obtained by the
222 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Russian troops, during his reign, over their degenerate neigh-
bours, the inhabitants of Turkey and Persia, and the plunder
they obtained in these countries has so excited their Cupidity,
that they now naturally desire a war with any power in which
they are likely to reap a rich harvest. His first step, of course,
would be to take possession of Constantinople and the Levant;
then, with Herat on one side and the Oxus on the other, we
might as well preach silence to the winds, as to attempt to
arrest his progress to India.” *
If such was the state of Russia and the sentiments of the
war party at the time we wrote this, -and we had ample oppor-
tunities, as the guest of Prince Worrenzow, Governor-General
of South Russia, of forming a tolerably correct opinion of the
wishes and tendencies of the military, how much better is
Russia prepared in the present day, should she feel disposed
to carry into effect any of her long meditated projects of con-
quest and dominion 1 *
In fact, we have entered an epoch pregnant with great
events, and which may lead to results the most momentous
and unforeseen. Who would have predicted a year ago, when
the anticipated invasion of Great Britain by France occupied
every man's thoughts, that Louis Napoleon, who we believed
meditated a war that would convulse the whole civilized
world, would prove the firm ally of England, and heartily
second all her endeavours to maintain peace Again, who
would have believed that the Tzar of all the Russias—the
pious pontiff of the Oriental Church—the chief of the Holy
Alliance—would be the first among the great rulers of the
world to unleash the dogs of war'ſ
Our government, it is true, has been blamed for not taking
a more decided tone when Russia. So irretrievably committed
herself by crossing the Pruth. Still, we cannot think that
the reams of paper consumed in fruitless negotiations have
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 223
been wasted. Public opinion in Europe has had time gra-
dually to form and declare itself in open condemnation of the
policy of the Tzar. Besides, even our own advocates for
peace upon any terms, and at any price, must now acknow-
ledge, however reluctantly, that the privilege of selling cotton
and iron may be obtained at too great a sacrifice. With
every respect for these gentlemen, and their well-intentioned
efforts, although the woe and suffering attendant on war are
confessedly great, yet in some instances, particularly among
a semi-barbarous people like the Russians and the Turks, it
is conducive to civilization. We must not, therefore, regard
it altogether as a pure unmitigated evil. In the present case
war is unavoidable ; and now that it has commenced, we fear
it will not end without a tremendous struggle. Russia knows
her power, and how to wield it. It was no light thing that
induced her to throw the gauntlet of defiance in the face of
two such formidable powers as Great Britain and France.
Viewing the question in this light, the perils are so great,
and the chances of success in a prolonged struggle so uncer-
tain, that we are led to coincide with the prevailing opinion,
that Russia from the first had made her arrangements with
the despotic princes of Europe, whose welfare is identified
with her own. Be this as it may, the time is fast approach-
ing when they must declare themselves. This is the position
to which Europe is now come—one of those phases in the
history of the world when enslaved man may be compared to
a chrysalis attempting to burst its prison, but detained in
confinement by a superior force. The future is dark and
stormy; and we fear that all the plans of diplomatists and
stock-jobbers will be unable to prevent the crisis—the fatal
conflict of opinions. An armistice,—may, even a hollow peace,
might be concluded between the belligerents, to be broken
whenever an opportunity may present itself; but the real
224 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
danger—the conflict of opinions—will only be postponed to a
future day. , &
With respect to Russia, that not only the balance of power,
but the vital interests of Great Britain, may those of the whole
civilized world, are involved in the contest, no man of the
least discernment can fail to perceive; for should the bar-
barians of the north succeed in establishing their Supremacy,
the destruction of all free institutions would soon follow, and
that progressive movement which has elevated man in our
day to a higher degree of intellect’and moral dignity than he
had ever before attained, will be as certainly interrupted. So
melancholy a result, however, can never occur, unless through
our own most culpable Supineness and negligence, in not
availing ourselves of the immense resources we possess as a
nation, which should be employed in putting a final stop to
the aggressive policy of a power that has openly and repeatedly
outraged all the sacred obligations of international law. Now
as humanity is shocked at So much moral and political profli-
gacy, and as there can be no hope for civilization, peace, and
order, so long as this barbarian power is allowed to continue
in its career of aggression, in an age when everything is tend-
ing towards a change, and events as extraordinary as un-
expected so rapidly succeed each other, it may be that
before the expiration of another year we shall see Poland
independent, the Caucasian Isthmus, the Helvetic Republic
of Asia, and we know not how many more kingdoms and
states, torn from the huge colossus that now threatens the
liberties of the world. -
That the progress of Russia in the East, where we have so
many interests at stake, is most alarming, there can be no
doubt. Should the present crisis lead to hostilities, a vast field
is open to us in the various countries bordering on the Black
Sea; but whatever may be the line of action we intend to
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 225
pursue, it must not be delayed; and we have already so far com-
mitted ourselves, that we can expect no mercy from the Tzar or
his allies, should they succeed in gaining the day. Here Russia
is most vulnerable; and here a blow could be struck which
would shake this part of her disjointed empire to its founda-
tion. In order, therefore, to make ourselves thoroughly
understood, we must request the reader to accompany us to
the Trans-Caucasian provinces of Russia, every inch of which
has been obtained by fraud, and in utter contempt of all
existing treaties.
On leaving the boundless steppes of Russia we see before
us the vast range of the Caucasian mountains, with their stu-
pendous alps Mount Elbrous and Kasbek, towering to the
heavens. This mighty range, which the ancients believed
encircled the universe, runs in a south-eastern direction across
the whole length of the country—the Caucasian isthmus
completely dividing the Black Sea from the Caspian. To the
north of this is Astrakan and that vast plain once the home
of the Nogay. Tatars, extending to the Sea of Azow. To the
south lie the provinces of Georgia, and the Turkish pachaliks
of Erzeroum, Kars, and Akhaltsikh; the whole of the inter-
mediate region, consisting of alp, mountain, defile, valley,
glen, and ravine, is the home of the Circassian, the Lesghian,
and several other warlike tribes, for the most part speaking a
dialect of the same language, and merely distinguished from
each other by the name of the district they inhabit—a people
that have never been conquered, that have lived on the
lands of their forefathers since the commencement of time.
Among these are settled numerous tribes of Tatars with their
chiefs, who here found a home after the conquest of the
Crimea by the Russians. . .
Throughout the whole of this vast range of mountains
there are only two roads to connect these Trans-Caucasian
Q
226 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
provinces with the rest of the Russian empire. The first is
that which follows the shore of the Caspian Sea to the port of
Derbend, a very strong position, known in former days as one
of the gates of Asia. The town, principally inhabited by
Tatars, contains about twenty-five thousand inhabitants; the
situation is picturesque, extending along a declivity of the
mountains, shelving down to an arm of the Sea; it is sur-
rounded by a wall, and defended by a strong citadel. The
other road, after leaving the town of Mosdok, situated on the
frontiers of the Caucasian province Kabardah, is conducted
along the valley of the river Terek to the fortress of Dariel
in the mountains, and from thence to Teflis. This road,
which passes through some of the most dangerous defiles in
the world, has been executed by the Russians at an enormous
sacrifice of life, owing to the incessant hostility of the Cir-
cassians and the Lesghians, who occupy the whole of the
adjoining mountains. As it is, the Russians find it necessary,
when they make use of this road, to be accompanied by a
train of artillery sufficiently strong to sweep an enemy from
the heights above.
There is another road in progress commenced by Prince
Worronzow, commander-in-chief of the army of the Caucasus,
which winds along the coast of the Black Sea, and is intended
to connect the forts of Anapa, Soujouk-Kaleh, Ghelendjik,
Pchad, Bombora, Soukoum-Kaleh, and one or two others, to
the Russian province of Immeretia, where it meets with the
road carried along the banks of the Kour to Teflis, the capital
of Georgia, a town containing about thirty thousand inhabi-
tants. This road is equally exposed to the hostility of the
Circassians and the Lesghians, who command the whole of the
adjoining heights. It is not yet completed, and can be of no
use whatever should the Russians lose the absolute right of
retaining the Black Sea as a Russian lake. As it is, these forts
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 227
are continually taken and destroyed by the mountaineers, and
the road itself rendered impassable.
The frontier which divides these Trans-Caucasian provinces
from Turkey is tolerably well defined, and defended on each
side by fortified towns and several strong forts. On the
Turkish side, Hassam-Kaleh, situated between the Araxes and
the Euphrates, and connected with the fort of Bairamlow
and one or two others, is a very strong position.
The Russian frontier running along the river Kars is
equally strong, defended as it is by Akhaltsikh, and one or
two other forts of minor importance ; this town, which con-
tains from eighteen to twenty thousand inhabitants, is com-
manded by a fortress, and surrounded by a wall of great
strength. Should the Turks at any time succeed in gaining
possession of Akhaltsikh and the defile of the Souram, Geor-
gia, Immeretia and Mingrelia would be completely severed
from all communication with the rest of the Russian empire,
because they would then be enabled to make common cause
with their co-religionists, the mountaineers of Circassia and
Daghestan, and, by sending quantities of fire-arms and am-
munition into the Caucasus, succeed in giving an unexampled
impetus to the war. The loss of Georgia, alone—a province
which from its position is the key to the whole of the Trans-
Caucasian possessions of Russia, and enables her to threaten
Turkey and Persia—would be one of the greatest misfortunes
that could happen to that power. -
After this slight sketch, it is scarcely, necessary to remind
the intelligent reader who takes up a map of the Russian
empire, that the Caucasus, with its gallant inhabitants, has
hitherto served as a barrier against Russia extending her
uncontrolled rule in Asia; and so long as that stronghold of
an independent people remains unsubdued, she will never
undertake so dangerous an enterprise as the invasion of India,
228 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
On the contrary, should she succeed in obtaining complete
possession of this important territory, we should then see her,
having no active enemy in her rear, and with every route
open by sea and land, marching onward to the conquest of
Turkish Armenia, and the whole of the intervening coast of
the Black Sea-conquests which would soon be followed up
by a successful attack on the capitals of Persia and Turkey;
when she might dictate such a peace as would render these
two powers the unresisting instruments of her ambitious
projects. . It must, therefore, be evident to every man at all
acquainted with the locality, that the Caucasian isthmus is
the bridge which must be crossed by Russia to all her future
conquests in Asia. This being admitted, we may be well
assured that no cost of men or money will be spared to win
the long disputed passage.
Up to the present time, although more than a quarter of
a century has elapsed since the commencement of the war,
the erection of a few mud forts and entrenchments on the
coast of the Black Sea, the Caspian, and along the great
military road, the Wladi-Kaukas, is all that Russia has been
able to achieve, and that at the expense of a fearful loss of
life; while the Circassian and Lesghian mountaineers have
not only formed a confederacy of interests, but succeeded in
enlisting in their cause various other tribes on the east and
western frontier of the Caucasus—tribes who formerly ac-
knowledged the supremacy of the Tzar. Add to this, the
whole of the forts on the Black Sea and the Caspian, and
those along the line of the military roads we previously
alluded to, are kept in a continual state of siege; and it is
well known, that nothing short of an overwhelming military
force holds in subjection the discontented inhabitants, both
Christian and Mahometan, of Georgia, Immeretia, Mingrelia,
and Russian Armenia.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 229
Surely, if there is a spark of humanity and justice to be
found in the cabinets of the two great Western powers, whose
united action at the present moment is sufficiently powerful
to control the destinies of the world, it is time to put an end
to this most unjust and barbarous war. Are their counsels to
be for ever swayed by the same timid policy which provides
but for the present, regardless of the future ? Is the common
enemy of the progress of mankind to be for ever allowed to
continue its career of ambition, although every inch of terri-
tory it gains is in direct opposition to the best interests of
their own countries, and that of European civilization ? The
welfare of posterity demands another line of action—demands
that they should dam up the stream before it swells into
a torrent. They are fully aware that Russia has not the
shadow of a right to the sovereignty of the Caucasus, yet
they hesitate to perform an act of justice; but now that she
has thrown at their feet the gauntlet of defiance, the honour
of their respective countries calls for a vigorous and decisive
course of action; and their first movement ought to be to
declare Circassia and the whole Caucasian isthmus inde-
pendent—a tardy act of justice, but perfectly consonant with
international law. - . . . . .
The moral effect of such a decision upon the surrounding
nations, who are now perfectly aware of the aggressive policy.
of Russia, would be incalculable, we should thus not only de-
prive her of the ability to continue her career of conquest in
Persia and Turkey, but deliver a brave people from one of the
most unjust and unequal contests ever recorded in the page.
of history; and at the same time secure the free navigation
of the Black Sea, the Caspian, and the Danube, and thus
open the whole of the fertile countries of Asia Minor and
Central Asia to European industry and civilization. On the
contrary, if slumbering in fancied security, we should still
230. TURKEY, RUSSIA,
hesitate to pursue the bold line of policy dictated to us by
the present crisis, it is highly probable that in a few years,
when the gallant inhabitants of the Caucasus shall be sub-
dued, or, what is more likely, exterminated, their country
incorporated with the Russian empire, and Persia and Turkey
chained to the chariot wheels of the conqueror on his march
to India, our children will bitterly regret the pacific tenden-
cies of their forefathers.
Happily, all classes in this country are now beginning to
be fully aware of the perils we have pointed out in this
chapter, if we may judge from the spirit of the press on the
Eastern question, and the Sentiments and opinions expressed
at all the various meetings held in the metropolis, and in the
great commercial towns of the empire; a proof that the mass
of the people are becoming more and more intimately ac-
quainted with foreign countries, and know how to connect
them with their own interest, and that of the general
civilization of mankind; it should also be a warning to mini-
sters that their tenure of office is fleeting, unless they pursue
a bold and decisive line of policy in all their relations with
foreign countries. And it may well be demanded of those who
so long held the reins of government, Why, in the name of
common sense and justice, should the Black Sea, the Caspian,
and the Lower Danube—those great highways of commerce
and civilization between Europe and Asia—be closed, at the
caprice of a power who has not one foot of territory on their
banks that has not been won by fraud and unprovoked
aggression ? - * -
The strength of Great Britain, both morally and physically,
was never greater than at the present moment; our respon-
sibility, therefore, is proportionably great; and though we
do not advocate the enlisting all the restless and dissatisfied
spirits of the age under our banners, yet our own security.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 231
requires that we should take such measures as will hence-
forth prevent the present or any future ruler of Russia
from interrupting the peace and tranquillity of the world,
Ynowing this, and that war—and nothing but war—can
finally decide the question, we ought to calculate beforehand
the consequences likely to result from a war with such a
power as Russia; otherwise it may be found when it is too
late, that we have been playing into the hands of an adver-
Sary who well knows how to take advantage of any false
move on Our part. The danger is confessedly great, and each
day's news shows that it rather increases than diminishes;
and to arrive at anything like a just conclusion as to the
wisest method of settling this embarrassing question, requires
not only the high intellect of the accomplished politician,
but the bold daring of the warrior. If we succeed in causing
the Russians to retire within their own frontiers, new diffi-
culties will arise ; for however much we may desire to
support the authority of the Turk in Europe, we fear it will
be impossible. Again, if we conclude a peace on the basis of
the present status quo, we shall only give time to the enemy
to complete his preparations for a contest which must surely
COIY16.
Indecision in grappling with an evil, however insurmount-
able it may appear, is a dangerous defect in the counsels of
those who are entrusted with the affairs of nations; if, there-
fore, in consequence of any fatal error, or through any false
political motive, we neglect to avail ourselves of our present
vantage ground, most undoubtedly we shall hand over to
Russia the destinies of the Christian Subjects of the Sultan.
The real home of the Turk is Asia, and there, among the
brethren of his own creed—a creed which ensures an equality
of interests and freedom to all who profess it, we see no
reason why he should not become highly civilized; and as he
232 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
becomes more enlightened, and better acquainted with the
humanizing tendencies of Christianity, a most efficient ally
in advancing the cause of civil and religious freedom; whereas
in Europe, where he holds daily intercourse with a people he
distrusts, and whose idolatrous forms of religion he despises,
however equitably he may rule in secular matters, the hostile
feeling, created by a difference in religion causes him to be
regarded by the Christians, in whatever is connected with
their faith, as a tyrant and oppressor. The lapse of time
and a more intimate acquaintance with the civilized inhabi-
tants of Europe have undoubtedly softened the fanaticism and
contempt of the Turk for the Christian and his usages. Of
this we ourselves have been a witness. For instance, on our
first arrival in Turkey, we were frequently pelted with mud and
dirt by the true believers, and called a Giaour and a Pesevenk!
—nay, a dog of dogs, and the son of a dirty swine! On our
next visit, we had nothing worse to complain of than a few
ugly grins and groans from women and boys, which lessened
on each subsequent journey, till in 1851 we found ourselves
the welcome guest of every pacha and effendi we visited in
the Turkish empire; even in many of the Turkish towns and
villages shouts of welcome greeted the arrival of the Ingleski-
bey. Still we must not imagine that this decrease of fana-
ticism on the part of the Mahometans has in any great
degree lessened the difficulties of bringing a most embarrassing
question to a successful issue. Again, Turkey has an immense
line of frontier to defend against a neighbour who never
loses an opportunity of seeking to effect her total overthrow;
and to add to her other embarrassments, she is obliged
constantly to maintain a large standing army in Europe to
hold in check the revolutionary spirit of a people who she
knows will never desist from agitation, till they have gained
their complete independence ; whereas, if she had two such
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 233
barriers as an Illyrian-Greek confederacy in Europe, and a
Caucasian confederacy in Asia, she might defy any future
aggression of Russia. In short, a Caucasian confederacy of
all the warlike tribes of the Caucasus, and a Greek-Illyrian
confederacy in Eastern Europe, under the protection of France
and Great Britain, would be one of the grandest political
projects of the age, and if it served no other purpose, would
at least call into existence several new states, and at the
same time increase the wealth and commercial prosperity of
civilized Europe by opening new channels of commerce into
some of the most fertile and beautiful countries in our
hemisphere.
It must be confessed that the Turk, in addition to his
ignorance and exclusiveness, has not much improved in the
ability to take advantage of existing circumstances, of which
we will give an illustration that recurred to our recollection
when we heard of the disaster the Turkish arms had sus-
tained at Sinope.
A few years since, we accompanied an intelligent Turkish
superior officer on a visit of inspection to the great towns and
fortified positions on the coast of Asia Minor, for the express
purpose of furnishing the Ottoman government with in-
formation as to their capabilities of defence, should Russia
attempt an invasion of that part of the Turkish Empire.
We were particularly struck with the position of Sinope, a
town built on the isthmus of a peninsula running into the sea
in the form of a promontory; a position which, it might be
seen at a glance, was admirably adapted for becoming, in the
hands of a clever military engineer, a second Gibraltar. It
was also evident that a place directly opposite, and only 150
miles distant from Sebastopol, protected by no better fortifi-
cation than an ill-constructed battery, very much but of re-
pair, and an old Byzantine castle, in an equally ruinous state,
234 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
would be certain to be attacked by a Russian fleet in the
event of a war; and if by any accident it fell into the hands
of a clever power like Russia, it would enable her not only
to command the whole of the Black Sea, but cut off every
communication between Constantinople and the Turkish
SINOPE.
pachaliks of Erzeroum, Kars, Turkish Armenia, &c. Plans
of additional fortifications were accordingly executed, and a
memorandum was drawn up, impressing upon the government
the necessity of putting a place so important into an efficient
state of defence.
It is scarcely necessary to say that the plans and the me-
morandum remained in the cabinet of the Vizier entirely
disregarded; and to this want of foresight may be attributed

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, 235
the disaster at Sinope. It is however to be hoped that the
allies of Turkey—France and England, will see the absolute
necessity of rendering impregnable a place, which, from its
position, ensures the safety not only of the capital, but of the
whole of the Turkish coast of the Black Sea. We ought also
to bear in mind that Constantinople is only 160 miles distant
from Sebastopol, one of the strongest fortified maritime posi-
tions in the Russian empire, and that the north wind which
prevails in the Black Sea, and the currents of the Bosphorus,
both aid Russia in case she should meditate a cowp-de-
main on Constantinople. *
236 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
ODESSA.
CHAPTER XVII.
The Black Sea—its Navigation—How Russia obtained possession of it—Arrival at
Odessa–Prosperous state of Odessa–Treaty of Adrianople–Beneficial results
to Russia—Encouragement given by Russia to Foreigners—Russian Navy—
Russian sailors—Peculation in Russia–Present political position of Russia.
No sea on the face of the globe, of like size and importance,
has witnessed so few naval contests on its waters as the
Euxine; and none, at least in modern times, has been so
unfortunate in the races who have held possession of its
shores.
The idea of converting the Black Sea into a private lake
did not originate with the Russians. It commenced with the

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 237
Turks, after they had expelled the Genoese, in the fifteenth
century; and their exclusive jealousy of other powers went
so far as to deny admission not only to ships of war, but,to
the merchant flags of every nation; and it might have re-
mained up to the present time as little known, and of as
little value to the commercial world, as if it were situated in
the heart of China, had it not been for the Russians, who
compelled the Ottoman Porte, after a series of naval victories,
to open the Bosphorus to the commercial flag of every nation.
But the Russians, instead of pursuing the liberal policy they
enforced on the Porte, seemed only intent, from the moment
their naval power became dominant in the Black Sea, on
converting it from a Turkish into a Russian lake; and how
well they "have succeeded in this, and in offering every
possible obstruction to the commerce of other powers, since
they obtained possession of the mouth of the Danube, re-
quires no comment. It is true, they had a selfish object in
view—the ruin of the trade of Austria, and the semi-inde-
pendent states of Turkey on the Lower Danube ; countries
which produce corn and other raw materials of commerce,
equally good in quality, and in as great quantity, as their
own territory can supply. However, we may now reasonably
expect, from the union of two such formidable powers as
France and England, that, before they again quit the waters
of the Euxine, such treaties will be concluded, that the
Danube and the Black Sea shall become, what all seas and
great navigable rivers ought to be, high roads for the com-
merce of the world. What prospects of future good would
not this open to the wretched inhabitants of these countries,
whose lands, although teeming with fertility, are of no value,
because their powerful neighbour chooses to monopolise the
whole trade to his exclusive advantage. Indeed, it can
scarcely be doubted, if war does take place between Russia
238 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
and the maritime forces of France and England, that the
mighty colossus which has so long dictated its laws to half
the world will receive a shock from which it will not easily
recover. The entire trade of South Russia, and of the vast
'countries watered by the Dneister, the Bug, and Dnieper,
would be at once interrupted,—Odessa ruined,—and the
various arsenals, dock and building yards, of Kherson, Nico-
laieff, Kaffa, Taganrog, &c., being ill-defended, most assur-
edly destroyed. Even Sebastopol, Secure as it is from any
attack by sea, is not impregnable on the land side. It is
true, the naval strength of Russia is yet to be tried; and,
singular enough, under no circumstances hitherto has there
ever been a collision between England and Russia. Still, the
position of a power reduced to a defensive attitude, with such
a vast extent of territory lying at the mercy of any enemy
strong enough to hold possession of the Black Sea, must
necessarily be very critical. With, respect to the dangers of
the navigation of the Black Sea, they have been much exag-
gerated by Russian writers. It is not, in reality, more tem-
pestuous than other seas; but, as we before observed, it is
liable to be visited with sudden and dense fogs, particularly
along the low swampy coast at the mouth of the Danube,
Odessa, Taganrog, and near the entrance of the Bosphorus,
where the current inclines to the shore; and the coast, taken
altogether, is not well provided with harbours and light-
houses, particularly on the Circassian and eastern shores. It
is, however, free from one great source of danger, seeing that
in its whole extent there is only one small island, called the
Serpents' Island—the ancient Achillis Insula. The naviga-
tion, also, is not impeded by rocks, except at Cape Kerpen;
and the only dangerous shoals are to be found at the mouth
of the Dnieper; to which we may add, since Russia has
obtained possession of the mouth of the Danube, owing to
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 239
wilful neglect, the depth of water at the bar is diminished
from sixteen feet to eleven. There are, however, shoals and
sand-banks at Odessa and Sebastopol, indicated by buoys; and
if these were removed in time of war, the navigation would
be rendered perilous, particularly to a man-of-war, unless
piloted by a seaman well acquainted with the locality.
There is no sensible tide in the Black Sea: it, however,
abounds in violent and dangerous currents; nor is tem-
pestuous weather felt anywhere more severely than where a
vessel has to contend against them, particularly those in the
neighbourhood of the Bosphorus. In summer, the prevailing
winds from north to north-east are all in favour of Russia;
whereas in spring, Summer, and autumn they incline more to
the south and South-west. Another great disadvantage on
the Russian coast of the Black Sea is, the intense cold in
winter, when several of the bays and estuaries are more or
less frozen. The harbour of Odessa is not frozen up every
winter; still, the navigation is rendered unsafe by drifting
ice. Sebastopol, and the other ports and harbours on the
coast of the Crimea, are always open ; as is also Kaffa,
although the strait of Yeni-Kale is every year completely
frozen over, together with the Sea of Azow. The whole of the
coast of Anatolia is well provided with harbours: the same
may be said of the Circassian coast; but the eastern only
contains one, Batoum, sheltered by a tongue of land, formed
by the deposits of the river Tchoruk-Su. *.
The utter insignificance to which this splendid sea has been
reduced in our day—in the time of the Greeks, Romans, and
even the Genoese, one of the most important in the civilized
world—is a decisive proof of the barbarism of the rulers that
have established themselves on its coasts: its forts and har-
bours, together with the course of the Danube, have indeed
been laid down in our maps, but as great a mystery has over-
240 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
shadowed it, as if it were in another hemisphere. Yet of all
the seas in the Old World there is none more advantageously
situated, none that would more effectually, with the aid of
either road, railway, or water communication, connect the
trade of Europe and Asia; however, to render this more
available, the canal” to which we alluded in a former chapter,
for uniting the Danube and the Black Sea, must be cut ;
which in fact would only be the reopening of the ancient
mouth of the Danube, as nearly half its course is already
filled with water. -
If this were done, the countries of Western Europe would
find a never-failing granary in the fertile countries of the
Lower Danube, together with every other article of commerce
or raw material, which the merchant is now obliged to pur-
chase at a much higher rate at Qdessa; in addition to these
advantages, mountains of Salt abound in Wallachia, sufficient
to supply the whole of the Levant, timber in any quantity,
to say nothing of the millions of swine in Servia, and the
numerous flocks and herds in Moldo-Wallachia, all of which
by the canal could reach Constantinople in a few days. Then
we have the shores of the Black Sea, which offer in Circassia,
Immeretia, Mingrelia, Georgia, Armenia, and the whole of
the Anatolian coast, mines of unexplored wealth to the
* We know of no undertaking, no enterprise, either in a commercial or political
point of view, comparable to one which would unite two quarters of the globe,
nor one that could be completed at such a trifling cost, when we say that it could
be dome, including cutting, banking, dredging, and piling, for a sum not exceeding
200,000Z. It is scarcely necessary to observe how great would be the profits to
the contractors, or how great, how invaluable the advantage to the trading
interests of every country, except, indeed, Russia; as it would reduce the navi-
gation of the Danube in this part of the river from a month or more of dangerous
windings through Sandbanks and miasma to about two days’ voyage. It also
happens most fortunately for the enterprise that at Kistenddji a headland runs
out into the sea, affording the necessary shelter for ships. Add to which, the
holding is good; nor is the coast, being here high and well defined, exposed
to the fogs and currents of the Delta of the Danube.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, 241
industry and enterprise of civilized Europe. The merest student
must know that the whole of these countries were formerly
some of the most flourishing in the world, blest as they are
with a most delicious climate, free from the extremes both of
heat and cold; but such is their melancholy condition in the
present day, isolated as they have been from all communi-
cation with the civilization of Europe, that you may ride for
days through them without Seeing a single habitation; and
when you do meet with your fellow-man, he is ignorant and
semi-barbarous, while his towns and villages exhibit every
symptom of poverty, ruin, and decay; so great has been the
darkness that has so long hung over this beautiful land.
We will now without further delay carry our readers at
once to Odessa, where, in opposition both to wind and cur-
rent, we arrived from Constantinople by steam in fifty-four
hours. &
Few towns have advanced more rapidly in prosperity than .
Odessa. In 1792 it was the poor Tatar village, Hadji-bey;
whereas at the present moment it numbers 100,000 inhabi-
tants, many of them wealthy, and possesses all the usual
establishments of a great maritime city. Several of the
houses and public buildings display considerable skill in
architecture, but as they are built of soft stone found in the
neighbourhood, which does not harden in any great degree by
exposure to the weather, they already bear about them an
appearance of antiquity. This circumstance, however, will
not any longer detract from the beauty of the town, which is
daily improving, since the builders have commenced importing
stone from the Crimea and the Caucasus.
The bazaars and shops, filled with whatever the industry
and ingenuity of Europe and the East can fabricate in articles
of taste and luxury, impart a semi-Oriental aspect to the town,
and tell of the great wealth and expensive habits of the
R
242 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
numerous Russian noblemen who have made Odessa their resi-
dence ; this, with the number of elegant carriages continually
rolling about the town, the activity, energy, and enterprise
everywhere visible, forms a very striking picture to the tra-
veller just arrived from Turkey, a country in which he cannot
help looking upon the people as little better than half alive.
Strictly speaking, Odessa cannot be considered a Russian
town with reference to its inhabitants, who are principally
Germans, Italians, Greeks, Jews, Armenians, and a few French
and English; and being a free port, merchants from every
part of the world may be seen wandering about the streets in
all the variegated costumes of Europe and Asia, which adds
not a little to the gaiety and variety of the promenade.
Odessa, however, as a port, labours under many disad-
vantages; the roadstead, for we cannot call it a harbour, is
exposed to an easterly wind, which frequently blows here with
great violence, particularly during autumn and winter. The
Sounding also being composed of soft clay of a most tenacious
nature, when large vessels lie here, their anchors are certain
to sink beyond all recovery, if not drawn every twenty-four
hours. Again, the climate is by no means Salubrious—the
winter is extremely rigorous, and the summer, with a thermo-
meter that reaches 30° of Reaumur, is equally trying to a
delicate constitution, aggravated as it is by the sudden change
that takes place when the bora prevails, which is certain to
produce catarrhal complaints and dysentery in those who
may venture out of doors without being well wrapped up in
a mantle.
Still, notwithstanding these objections, and that the bay of
Odessa is generally ice-bound during two months of the year,
together with the vexatious formalities of the government in
passports, port regulations, quarantine laws, and all the other
hindrances which despotism throws in the way of trade, there
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 243
are few towns in the old world that have made such progress
as Odessa, in wealth and prosperity, in So short a time;
which is certain to continue till the Russian government
obtains complete possession of the Danubian principalities;
then Odessa will share the same fate as Cherson, Nicoleiff
Theodosia, Taganrog, and various other towns, as it has ever
been the policy of this aggressive power when she extends her
dominions to put forth the greatest energy and activity she
is possessed of on the frontier.
Odessa owes all its prosperity to the various treaties of
commerce concluded between Russia and Turkey, particularly
the last at Adrianople, which made South Russia the granary
of Europe, and Turkey with its dependencies, comprising
Some of the most fertile lands in our hemisphere, the poorest
Čountries in the world, because those treaties ensured to
Russia unlimited freedom of commerce throughout the whole
Ottoman empire; which may be interpreted to mean—Turkey,
thou shalt not deal in anything that I have to sell I Really,
if we had time and space to discuss the separate articles of
the treaties between these two powers since Russia obtained
access to the Black Sea, we could show our readers an amount
of ignorance and stupidity in the Turks, and an adroitness
in the Rouss in turning every trifling circumstance to account,
almost unparalleled in the history of diplomacy. With all
the disadvantages of position—frozen Seas and barren steppes
—a semi-barbarous people—the Bosphorus closed against her
—the Turks still the terror of Europe, yet her tact and
perseverance, nevertheless, triumphed; and now she sees her-
self not only mistress of the Black Sea and the Danube, but
her produce, including every description of corn and raw
material, sent to the markets of every country in Europe, for
which she compels them to pay in specie, thus enabling her
to dictate peace or war to half the world.
244 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
What vigour and ability must have been displayed to pro-
duce these results! more particularly, when we remember that
nearly the whole of what at present is called South Russia,
and which now furnishes such abundance of grain, was little
more than sixty years ago one interminable extent of pasture
land, over which the various hordes of Calmucks, Nogay, and
Kara-Tatars wandered with their flocks and herds. And
truly, while journeying over this vast district, as we did some
years ago—a district twice as large as Great Britain,-when we
See the towns and villages that have sprung up, the neat
farms of the colonists, Germans, Swiss, French, Bulgarians,
and others, that here have found a home—the security and
convenience of travelling; we cannot but admire the Russian
government, however much we may dislike its acts in other
respects, for thus widely extending the blessings of civiliza-
tion. The soil, which is a dark putrid loam, never requires
manure, and although the country is exposed to the severest
extremes of heat and cold, and provided with very few streams
and rivers, these indefatigable colonists have overcome even
this difficulty by sinking wells, which enable them to irri-
gate their lands and produce the most abundant crops. It
is true, the Russian government, always provident and far-
sighted, has granted to these foreign colonists privileges which
the rest of its subjects do not enjoy, such as exemption from
military service, and from various taxes which press heavily
on the agriculturist in other parts of the empire. Serfdom,
also, is not permitted in South Russia; in short, everything is
done to encourage colonization, and to impress upon the in-
habitants of the neighbouring countries a belief in the pater-
nal tenderness of Russian rulers, no doubt with a view of
extending her dominion among the Slavonian people, the
subjects of Austria and Turkey, that dwell on her frontier.
Russia, in fact, owes all her civilization, such as it is, to the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 245
encouragement she has held out to foreigners to settle in the
country. The plan adopted by Peter the Great, of employing
the clever adventurers of the West to fight his battles in the
cabinet and the field, has been continued by each successive
sovereign. The navy was originally indebted for its efficiency
and tactics to Englishmen, the army to Germans, Swedes, and
Danes; and though we hear of many unpronounceable names
ending in ow, and 2000, vich, chef, and Sky, as belonging to
men occupying the most exalted station, it is not they, but
foreigners, who still guide the affairs of the empire. These
are the men who plan the campaign—perform the service of
spies, or agents, as the case may be, at home and abroad
who execute those acts of the government which require
somewhat latitudinarian views of truth and honour ;-men
who by their tact, Sagacity and talent for business have mo-
nopolized nearly every department, civil and military, through-
out the empire. With them war and diplomacy are regarded
in no other point of view than as paths to wealth and dis-
tinction, and they know that so long as they preserve inviolate
the secrets confided to them and fulfil their mission, there
will not be a very strict inquiry as to any little acts of pecu-
lation by which they propose to add a trifle to their salary.
We may also record, that it has been chiefly owing to their in-
genuity, and no doubt they found apt scholars in their em-
ployers, that we now see established in Russia one of the most
scientific despotisms that ever existed in the world; for these
men, not being influenced by love of country, or a regard for
national honour, the welfare of the land of their adoption
is a matter of supreme indifference, except so far as it is con-
nected with their own interest and present advantage. Again,
whatever attempts have been made by the native Russians
to destroy the despotic system which involves the whole of
society in this country as in a net-work, have all proved
246 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
unsuccessful, for there was always to be found some one of
these foreign mercenaries to betray the plot.
As to the true Moscovite of the Slavonian race, he differs
but little from his brethren in other countries. He is honest,
hospitable, good-natured, but a great fanatic, and dislikes the
foreign adventurers quite as heartily as the stranger who is
doomed to endure their insolence and petty tyranny in official
matters. The influence of this class has been very detrimental
to public morality in Russia; for, being generally men without
property, and too often with a character by no means above
reproach, it was they who first introduced into Russia that
demoralizing system of corruption, which must, were there no
other cause, sooner or later work its own ruin, or that, of the
country. We heard this opinion repeatedly expressed by
Russians of the highest respectability, who saw no remedy
for the evil but the entire expulsion of foreigners from the
service.
We left Odessa in a Russian corvette, the Iphigemia, com-
manded by Captain Poothatin, an able seaman, and a gentle-
man in every respect. He spoke the English language with
great fluency, had served under Admiral Lazareff, who was a
pupil of the famous Russian admiral, the Scotsman Keith.
The whole of his officers also were remarkably well-educated
men, and spoke several European languages. As may be
Supposed, under such an experienced commander as Captain
Poothatin the Iphigenia was a model of neatness and disci-
pline; and so completely English in her appointments—for the
Russians copy us in everything connected with the marine,
from a nail to a mast—that, were it not for the language and
the inappropriate dress of the sailors, we might have fancied
ourselves on board one of the bulwarks of Old England.
Indeed, nothing could exceed the kindly feeling and polite
attention we received from every man on board. But so it is;
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 247
an Englishman who may be well recommended is certain to
receive from every Russian gentleman he visits the most
unbounded hospitality, in every part of the empire; nor are
there any people who discharge its duties with more grace
and courtesy, or with whom we should be more inclined to
establish a lasting friendship: but between the despotism of
Russia and the free institutions of England a collision is
inevitable; their tendencies are diametrically opposite to
each other. The question now is, Which shall give way ?
This is the position to which the two are now come —
a conflict of opinions, which must be decided by the sword
We may, however, rest assured that all the Russians are
not the abject slaves generally supposed. There is, in fact,
a numérous and influential party in Russia, both in the
army and the navy, and among the well-informed inhabitants
of towns and cities, who will be certain to strike a blow if
they see the slightest chance of upsetting the despotism
of which they are now the victims. But the power against
which they have to contend, based as it is upon a most
skilfully devised system of rule, is, it must be confessed,
very difficult to subvert. There is the foreign element, to
which we before alluded, the influence of the priests, and the
fanaticism of a people the most ignorant and debased that
can be conceived: a machine at once powerful and dangerous
in the hands of so clever a sovereign as the Tzar Nicholas has
proved himself to be.
As a naval power, however much we may admire now and
then the discipline on board one of her line-of-battle ships, it
would be superfluous to say that Russia can have no chance
of success if matched against Great Britain. The officers in
general are well educated, brave, and attached to their pro-
fession, and, no doubt, would do their duty to their country;
but the Seaman, half soldier, half sailor, from the circum-
248 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
stance of his ship lying inactive for one half of the year in
ice-bound seas, and during the remainder cruising in the
Baltic and the Euxine, seas without tides, and presenting
few difficulties in their navigation, cannot be expected from
such a mode of training to become a good Sailor ; even
supposing the vessels were Seaworthy, which is not always
the case. It must be confessed also that the dress of a
Russian Seaman,—his padded, tight-laced military coat, his
jack-boots, shako, and cartridge-box,−does not give you the
idea of a man rigged out to reef a studding-Sail, shake out a
main sheet, put the helm a-lee, or to perform the hundred
other duties of an active Sailor, during a gale of wind, or in
face of an enemy.
It is not by building vessels of war, and manoevring a few
months during summer, as if on a party of pleasure, and then
sending the sailors to their homes to occupy themselves in
works of agriculture, as we see practised in Russia, that an
efficient nursery of mariners can be formed and maintained:
it is by battling from year to year with the dangers of the
hurricane and the storm, by exposure to the blasts of every
sea, and the heat and cold of every clime. This Russia
knows well,—and dreads a collision that would at one fell
blow destroy her commerce and her naval credit.
The Russian government, in addition to its being assail-
able through its infant navy and commerce, has to contend
against a great domestic evil—demoralizing peculation. This
insatiable desire for acquiring wealth, whether at the expense
of the government or individuals, pervades all classes, has
been the cause of the most flagrant abuses in every branch of
the public service, and may lead at some future period to the
most disastrous consequences. Even the Emperor, with all
his activity and inexorable severity, has not been able to
conquer the evil. What must we think of a superior officer
THE BLACK SEA, AND CERCASSIA. 249
who permits the substitution of cheap green wood for dry, in
the ships intended for the defence of his country'ſ or the
man who robs the unhappy soldier of his food and raiment,
and even sells the ammunition to an enemy who directs his
bullets against the army he commands, as happened more
than once during the war in Circassia'. We witnessed an
instance of this abominable venality some years ago at Sebas-
topol, in the Warsaw, a splendid ship of 120 guns. The
offender was degraded, and sent to Siberia; but the vessel
died of consumption | But what are we to expect from the
virtue of civil and military officers of the highest rank, often
foreign adventurers with little or no income except what they
receive from the government in a salary of a few thousand
roubles a-year, and who from their position are, as it were,
obliged to display all the pomp and splendour of a wealthy
nobleman? Imagine a colonel in active service supporting
the dignity of his station upon the munificent pay of 3,000
roubles a-year !
But to return to the Russian navy. Happily for mankind,
if the mighty monarch of the North, with his myriads of
semi-barbarian subjects, threatens the liberties of the world
On land, his maritime operations, at all events, can be easily
controlled. In a word, the whole navy of Russia lies at the
mercy of France and England, if her squadrons attempt to
pass beyond the two narrow channels, the Thracian Bospho-
rus and the Sound, the outlets of those seas in whose harbours
they are now lying. Again, it must not be forgotten that if
she is allowed to acquire territories beyond these confines, she
will be enabled to form an efficient navy; and then, powerful
by land and sea, how difficult would it be to stop her career
In this consists the real weakness of Russia; and no wealth,
no amount of population, no extent of dominion, can compen-
sate for the narrow limits within which her maritime opera-
&
250 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
tions are necessarily confined. Let her once obtain the
command of the Mediterranean, and her energetic, clever
government would soon extend its conquests to the Atlantic.
Fortunately, we have in the present ruler of France an able
ally, whose penetration has seen at the eleventh hour what
not one of the short-sighted monarchs of the house of Bour-
bon could discover, that France, with her 300 leagues of coast
on the Mediterranean, and no other barrier between her and
invasion but that inert mass of little states called Germany,
has an equal interest with Great Britain in checking any
further advance of a power whose aggressive policy menaces
the independence of Europe. ;
With respect to the thirty-six rulers of Germany, and their
very tractable 60,000,000 of subjects, as they have already,
with the most amiable resignation, Submitted to leave the
commerce of their noblest river, the Danube, at the mercy of
the Tzar of all the Russias, we presume they would admit his
armies whenever he demands a passage to the Rhine; the
more willingly, perhaps, as some of these petty princes might
have a chance in the mêlée of adding a few acres to his little
territory.
In fact, Russia does not owe the aggrandisement of her
empire so much to the military enterprise of her people as
to her geographical position, having on one side neighbours
wanting in energy and spirit, and on the other hordes of
ignorant, undisciplined Mahometans, in Turkey, Persia, and
Eastern Tartary. With such efficient allies, who can wonder
at the extension of her territories, or brilliant victories?
Even in the present day, Russia has been indebted for her
accession of power to the general spread of liberal opinions
among the civilized inhabitants of Europe, and their various
attempts to establish a representative form of government; º,
whose sovereigns, aware of the inadequacy of their power to
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 251
crush the democratic hydra, took every opportunity, through
the instrumentality of their hireling writers, to magnify the
strength of their champion, the Goliath of Moscovy, knowing
that the benighted serfs of the North would march with
equal alacrity to dethrone the Sultan, or Louis Napoleon, or
to build up or pull down a constitution.
That Russia has already taken advantage of her position,
and will continue to do so, should a war actually take place
between Russia and the Western Powers, we may rest assured.
She has only to fan into a flame the embers of revolutionary
fury in Hungary, Italy, Germany, and perhaps France, to
break up any confederation that the rulers of these states
might form against her for the preservation of the balance of
power. In short, the only government that Russia has to
dread is that of Great Britain; for, having there no party to
aid her designs, none whom she may bribe, cajole, or awe
into submission by her menaces, she is met by the resolute
determination of an entire and united people to oppose her
ambitious projects. Here, therefore, is the power that must
arrest her further progress ere it be too late—ere her un-
checked career of conquest sweep like a deluge over the
nations, obliterating in its headlong course all vestiges of that
civilization, intelligence, and industry, that social, moral, and
national prosperity, which it has been the work of centuries
to achieve. \.
2
5
2
TURKEY, RUSSIA,
SEBASTOPOI,
CHAPTER XVIII.
General description of Sebastopol-Situation—Harbour–Fortifications—Sebastopol
as a defensive position—Wisit to a subterraneous town—Singular mountain
fortress–Journey to Simpheropol—Balaclava–Its advantages as a harbour—
Russians and Tatars.
THE first view of Sebastopol, when seen from the sea, is most
imposing. After the eye of the traveller has glanced over the
capacious harbour, studded with vessels of war of all sizes, he
sees a noble town, with its numerous churches, barracks, and
other public buildings, rising up in the form of an amphi-
theatre, here crowning the heights, and there shelving down
to the sea; where stately houses and vast magazines are seen

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 253
mingling with the tall-masted ships lying at anchor in the
various creeks and bays that branch off in every direction, all
attesting the importance of the principal naval station in the
Russian empire.
Sebastopol, like Odessa, was a miserable Tatar village little
more than sixty years ago. About that time, a Frenchman
who happened to be travelling in the Crimea was struck with
the natural advantages of a position which he at once saw, if
properly fortified, might be made one of the first naval sta-
tions in the world. On his return to St. Petersburgh, his
observations to that effect happening to reach the ears of the
Empress Catherine, engineers were despatched to the Crimea,
whose report confirming that of the stranger, works were
instantly commenced; but whether through intention or
neglect, the name of the Frenchman, the author of so valu-
able a suggestion, never transpired; and from that time this
famous stronghold of the Russians in the Black Sea has con-
tinued to increase in strength and importance.
The principal harbour, called the Roads, stretching inland
to a length of more than four miles, is so capacious, and the
anchorage so good, that the fleets of nations might ride in it,
safe from every wind; and such is the great depth of water,
that a man-of-war of the largest size can lie within a cable's
length of the shore. Besides this, there are five other small
bays, branching off in various directions, equally commo-
dious; and, singular enough, the great harbour, together with
the small bays, are all lined by a continuation of capes, strong
and easily defended, as if formed by the hand of nature
expressly for a naval station.
The whole of this may be seen from the upper part of the
town, and here the traveller will be able to estimate the diffi-
culties and dangers that any hostile fleet must encounter
which should attempt to break through a barrior so admirably
254 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
defended by nature and art. Here, as his eye ranges from
the Black Sea, he will behold a roadstead, or, rather, a river-
like arm of the Sea, unimpeded either by shoal or rock,
penetrating inland to a length of at least six marine miles,
protected by a series of forts capable of maintaining a cross
fire on any enemy who should have the hardihood to attempt
to fight his way into the interior. Communicating with this
he will likewise distinctly see its various bays and creeks, all
perfectly sheltered from every wind, and, like the great
roadstead itself, sufficiently deep to receive the largest man-
of-war.
That called South Bay, lying at the foot of the hill on
which he stands, is the most important ; its length is upwards
of half a mile, and it is completely sheltered by a range of
limestone cliffs. Here vessels are rigged and unrigged, and
may lie as securely as if they were enclosed in a glass case.
Beyond this bay, and connected with it, is a Snug creek, in
which he may see immense works carried on for the purpose
of forming a basin for the repairs of vessels of the line. He
can also see Ships Bay, Careening Bay, and Artillery Bay, all
possessing every advantage which nature and art could bestow
on a maritime position; the latter, which bounds the town
to the west, is only used for commercial purposes.
Each of the four large forts which protect the entrance
consists of three tiers of batteries, each fort mounting 300
pieces of artillery. Besides these, there were other plans of
the most colossal description of defence, ready to be carried
into execution, at every angle where a gun could be placed
that might play advantageously on an enemy's fleet.
The fortifications of Sebastopol have been much criticised;
it is said that a hostile Squadron would soon silence the forts,
with their tiers of guns, because, being built in a position too
high above the Sea, their guns, if pointed horizontally, could
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, 255
at best only injure the rigging of a ship. The interior
arrangements of the forts are also objected to, on account of
the contracted dimensions of the rooms in which the guns are
worked, and the insufficient ventilation, which, after a few
discharges, would render it extremely irksome for an artillery-
man to do his duty. Again, the imprudence of the govern-
ment is blamed for employing a species of soft limestone in
the masonry of a three-story battery mounting 300 guns,
which, it is contended, would be shaken to pieces after a few
discharges of artillery. . Above all, much stress is laid on the
fact that Sebastopol labours under the great disadvantage of
being utterly defenceless on the land side, and therefore
might be taken by any enemy who should land a few thou-
Sand men on the coast of the Chersonesus, and at the same
time make an attack by sea.
We must not, however, give implicit credence to the state-
ments and opinions of those travellers who assert that Sebas-
topol may be so easily captured. Many of the internal
arrangements of the forts might, no doubt, be improved; and
the stone used in the fortifications, which has been objected
to by some persons for its softness, has been prized for that
very quality by other engineers, as less likely to be shattered
by a bombardment. But the efficiency or the imperfections
of the fortifications, fortunately for Sebastopol, have yet to
be proved; and, with respect to the Supposed weakness on the
land side, when the defences are completed which Captain
Poothatin and the English engineer, Mr. Upton, informed me
were in contemplation, Sebastopol will have nothing to fear
from that quarter.
Is it likely that so energetic a man as the Emperor of
Russia, with the whole science and talent of Europe at his
command, would have neglected to take the necessary pre-
cautions for defending so important a maritime position as
256 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
this? But Sebastopol labours under an evil which up to the
present time has defied all the ingenuity of man to remedy.
These waters swarm with a species of worm that attacks the
bottoms of vessels, and often renders them unserviceable in
a few years. With the hope of removing this evil, the
government went to the enormous expense of filling the
basins with fresh water from the Tzerni-Retchka; but lo!
when the canal was completed, it was found that the muddy
waters of the river, which so much pains had been taken to
procure, increased the Vermin.
Perhaps there is no part of the Crimea so interesting for
its antiquities as the neighbourhood of Sebastopol. The bay
is that described by Strabo as the Ctenus; and the Tatars
called the little town they inhabited here previous to the
arrival of the Russians, Atkiar (ancient), when Catherine II.
gave it the pompous title of Sebastopol.
The country included within the isthmus formed by the
bay, and which runs to the valley of Inkerman on one side,
and to the channel of Balaclava on the other, is precisely that
so accurately laid down by Strabo as the Heracleotic Cherso-
nesus, in which, he tells us, stood the famous cities of Eupa-
torium, the old and new Chersonesus, and Portus Symbolorum.
At the time the Genoese ruled in this part of the Crimea, the
remains of these beautiful cities were much admired, and care-
fully preserved; but the Turks, who drove out the Genoese,
laid them in ruins; and when the Russians obtained posses-
sion, the work of the spoiler was completed. Indeed it would
appear as if these two races laboured to destroy every trace
of the power that preceded them. Even so recently as the
year 1795, travellers tell us of the considerable ruins that
then existed of Chersonesus and Eupatorium; now there is
scarcely one stone upon another. r *
Accompanied by Captain Poothatin of the Iphigemia
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 257
corvette, and Mr. Upton, the English engineer, we made
several interesting excursions in the neighbourhood of Sebas-
topol as far as Simpheropol, the capital of the Crimea. Our
first visit was to Inkerman, which may be termed, without
any figure of speech, a subterranean town, with its dwelling-
houses and churches, monasteries and corridors, chapels, cells,
and Sepulchres, even fortifications, battlements, and towers,
all hewn out of the sides of the rocky hills that line this
romantic valley, and executed with the most elaborate skill
and labour. - f
The general opinion respecting the origin of this subterra-
mean town is, that it was executed in the first ages of Chris-
tianity by a colony of Arians.
We next visited Balaclava, supposed to be built on the
ruins of the ancient Portus Symbolorum. It is distant
about ten wersts from Inkerman, and in many respects
equally interesting. During the whole of our route, we per-
ceived here and there traces of the ruins of the cities of
CherSonesus and Eupatoria; and distinctly traced the lines
of their ancient walls, which, from the space they enclosed,
must have been of great extent. -
The bay of Balaclava, as we approached it, at first sight,
resembles a large lake, landlocked by high precipitous moun-
tains; and these being crowned by ruins of fortifications, the
effect is most picturesque. The Genoese, sensible of the
value of this bay as a harbour, rebuilt the ancient Portus
Symbolorum, to which they gave the name of Bella-Clava,
since corrupted to Balaclava. Under their rule it enjoyed a
long career of prosperity, till at length it was surprised by
a fleet of Turkish pirates, who, after plundering the town,
burnt it, and carried off the inhabitants into slavery. At
present what remains of this very old town, with its narrow
streets, worn pavement, and antiqualed looking houses, might
S
258 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
.#
almost impress a traveller with the belief that he was con-
templating another Pompeii or Herculaneum, which had just
been excavated after lying buried in the earth for a thousand
years. | -
Balaclava, however, is a very interesting place, if it were
for nothing else than its beautiful bay, about an English mile
or more in length, and winding like a lovely river through the
mountains. In breadth it may be about a quarter of a mile,
and So narrow at the entrance as scarcely to afford a passage
for two large-sized vessels to pass abreast. It possesses also
these peculiar advantages, the anchorage is perfectly safe,
there is shelter from every wind, and the water is sufficiently
deep to receive the largest ships. In short, it is just one of
those nooks whence, in the event of a naval war in the Black
Sea, the Russians might pounce in great force upon an unsus-
pecting enemy, and after sinking or destroying them, again
retreat to their hiding-place. For some reasons, best known
to the Russian government, notwithstanding the bay of
Balaclava is so admirably adapted for a commercial harbour,
Or, indeed, a naval station, the entrance has been until very
recently closed against every flag, even their own; still no
vessels are permitted to seek shelter, except in case of stress
of weather. The country around Balaclava, particularly the
beautiful vale that leads to the town, and the channel that
conducts to the Black Sea, is highly picturesque. Here we
See mountains of rock, rent from base to summit by some
convulsion of nature, in whose fissures are seen growing
numerous rare and beautiful trees, in all their luxuriant and
many-tinted foliage.
On leaving Balaclava, the landscape lost nothing of its
picturesque character, alternating in mountain, glen, valley,
and defile, till we arrived at the pretty village of Karolez,
One of the most romantic in the Crimea, over which in the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 259
distance is seen rising in lofty grandeur the ancient fortress
of Mangoup-Kalé, perched on the Summit of an isolated
mountain. Like everything else in the Crimea, so long
under the rule of a semi-barbarous people, the Turks and
the Tatars, no record remains that can be depended upon to
inform us by whom or at what epoch this extraordinary
fabric was constructed. From the magnitude of the fortress,
the great extent of the fortifications, the numerous chambers
cut in the solid rock, the majestic ruins of a temple, the
cemetery, and various other indications of a highly civilized
people, we are led to believe that Mangoup-Kalé must have
contained a population of several thousand inhabitants.
With some difficulty we ascended the steep sides of the
mountain by a path, which bore evidence of having been at
one time a regular paved road, and defended at every angle
by the remains of a watch-tower; we were, however, well repaid
for the labour by the splendid prospect we enjoyed from the
Summit. Sebastopol, bounded by the blue waters of the
Euxine, seemed to lie beneath us; the stately churches and
public buildings of the town appearing like pigeon-houses;
and the tall-masted men-of-war lying in the roadstead and
harbours as if they were tiny pleasure-boats, while the moun-
tains around us seemed to have dwindled down into mere
molehills.
About six wersts distant we visited another of these singu-
lar fortresses, equally interesting for its architecture and
situation; it bears the name of Tcherkess-Kerman, and
appears, from the traditions that still exist in the country,
to have been erected by the Tcherkess (Circassians), when
that warlike people were the lords of the Crimea.
The next place of importance we came to was Simpheropol,
or, as the Tatars call it, Akmetchet (white mosque), of
every town in the Crimea the most agrecable as a residence.
260 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
The mountains in the vicinity temper the great heat of
summer, and the Salghir, running through the town, adds
not a little to the Salubrity and beauty of the place. Since
the Russian government made Simpheropol the capital of
the Crimea, it has gone on rapidly increasing, and may now
be called a very considerable city, having all the public
establishments requisite to conduct the affairs of an extensive
province; and when we compare its fine squares and elegant
houses with the old town, inhabited by that primitive and
unchanging people the Tatars, the contrast between a Maho-
metan and a Christian people is most striking. The dila-
pidated walls of centuries still surround their little town; the
narrow streets remain unpaved; and when a house is burnt,
or becomes uninhabitable from age, the same architecture, the
same form, is rigidly preserved in rebuilding it. Nor have
their manners or mode of living undergone any material
alteration, for they still maintain their character for simpli-
city, as if they were separated a thousand miles from their
go-a-head neighbours, a melange of nations—like the inha-
bitants of every town in the Crimea.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 261
TATAR PEASANTS.
CHAPTER XIX.
Journey to Baytohe-Serai—Tatar Willages—Description of Baytche-Serai—Histo-
rical Sketch of the Tatars—How Russia obtained possession of Krim Tatary—
Tatar Tribes—Their Habits—Manners–Customs—Russian Steppes—Their Pe-
culiarities—Impossibility of cultivating them,
ON leaving Simpheropol for Bagtche-Serai, the residence and
seat of government of the former rulers of the Crimea, the
khans of Krim-Tatary, we continued our route along the
borders of the great steppe, and if we were deprived of the
beautiful scenery of the coast, we were amply repaid by the
novelty of witnessing the every-day life of the Tatars, who
here continue to live in all their primitive simplicity, un-
molested by the rapacity of any petty Russian despot in
authority,+and for this they are indebted to the enlightened

262 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
government of Prince Worrenzow, Governor-general of South
Russia.
Our route for some time lay through a fertile valley,
watered by a tributary of the Salghir ; the road, it is true, was
none of the best, but as we were well mounted on Tatar
horses, so famous for their surefootedness, and had for our
guide an honest Tatar, this did not occasion us much incon-
venience. The scenery, if not beautifully picturesque, was at
least novel, which epithet may also be applied in a special
degree to the costume and manners of the inhabitants. The
rocks which occasionally skirted the valley, appeared in one
place as if chiselled by the hand of man, and in another re-
Sembled piles of gigantic books, laid on the shelves of a
library. From this we emerged into a tiny plain, filled with
men, women, and children, engaged in agricultural pursuits.
Here we saw the Moullah in his snow-white turban, the
Mourza in his silver-braided coat and cap, the peasant in his
shalwar and Sandals; nor were the women, enveloped in the
ample folds of the white feredgé, which gave them an appear-
ance at once graceful and coquettish, the least striking objects
in the picture. Sometimes a youthful dame condescended to
present us with a glimpse of her gazelle eye, but finding she
was observed, hastily shrouded her bright glances in the
folds of her yashmak, which, by a happy arrangement here,
as in other Mahometan countries, the prettier the face the
more transparent the veil. Camels loaded with heavy pack-
ages, and looking most serious and important, silently and
slowly paced over the grassy turf of the steppe; and that
music might not be wanting, we were continually greeted
with that most inharmonious of all sounds, the creaking of
the Tatar wagons; for being entirely made of wood, and
never greased, a concert of discordant sounds is produced,
which no traveller who has once heard them can ever forget.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 263
Rich Karaite Jews and Armenians, in their peculiar cos-
tume, ambled along on their well-fed mules; these were
diversified by German colonists, so easily known by the short
petticoat of many folds, red stockings, and high-heeled shoes
of the women; there were also encampments of gypsies; and
bands of Russian recruits on their way to the nearest depot.
Several of the Tatar villages through which we passed
were exceedingly rural and romantic; a running stream was
almost invariably the accompaniment, for water in this parched
country is indeed a blessing, and without it to irrigate his
lands, a Tatar never attempts to pursue agricultural employ-
ments. The interior of one of those Tatar dwellings differs in
nothing from those we described in Turkey; their coffee-
houses, manner of living, sitting, and smoking, are all the
same as those of the indolent Osmanli, whom they imitate in
everything, and like them wear a profusion of amulets to pre-
serve themselves from sorcery and the evil eye. Paley says
that the man who is in earnest about religion, although not
the true one, cannot be a bad man. This is exemplified in
the character of the Tatars, who are at once hospitable, kind
to each other, and strictly honest in their dealings with the
stranger; and although we cannot subscribe to the veracity
of Mahomet's creed, it was a pleasing sight to see every one
of these little villages adorned with its own pretty mosque
and unpretending minaret. Indeed, the simplicity of the
forms of the Mahometan religion, which permits every man
who can read the Koran to expound it, is well adapted to
a quiet, agricultural, and pastoral people like the Tatars,
and we do not believe that any piety can be more sincere than
that of these unsophisticated peasants. Every attempt made
by the Russian government, either by threats or bribes, to
convert them to the orthodox faith, up to the present time
has proved ineffectual.
264. TURKEY, RUSSIA,
*
Bagtche-Serai has lost the whole of its magnificence; and
though not more than one-third of the town had escaped
the devastations of the soldiers of the empress Catherine,
enough remains to render this residence of the khans of
Western Tatary highly interesting, more especially as it is
the only town in the Crimea to which the privilege has been
conceded of being exclusively inhabited by Tatars. Built
partly on the banks of the Djourouk-Sou, and partly on the
craggy sides of two steep rocky mountains, the situation
is highly romantic; the aspect of the town, the architecture
of the houses, the manners, customs, and costume of the
inhabitants, are all strictly preserved. There are bazaars,
and mosques with their pretty minarets, chiosks and ceme-
teries, groves of cypresses and poplars, terraced gardens and
vineyards, that seem to hang in air; babbling fountains and .
ever-running crystal springs, to impart their freshness and
cool the air. * *
The streets, in accordance with the custom of all Oriental
towns, are narrow and badly paved; and the principal one,
that runs through the centre, is little less than an English
mile in length, Here, like the street we described at Con-
stantinople, every trade and handicraft is exercised in
public. *
Our letters from Prince Worrenzow to the principal Mourza
of the town, procured us apartments at the palace of the
Khan, the only building of the kind in the Crimea. We were
pleased to see that the Russian government, in making the
necessary repairs, had the good taste to preserve its original
character, even to the colour of the painting, the decorations,
and the furniture. There was the seraglio, with its pretty
gardens and elegant baths, the turreted chiosk and mosque,
the hall of audience, with its latticed gallery, where the fair
houris of the khan were allowed, unseen, to contemplate the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 265
brilliant assemblage of courtiers and warriors beneath. In
short, there is everything as it existed in the days of the last
khan, the heroic Selim Guerai, except inhabitants; these the
imagination must supply; for now all is silent—silent as the
grave!
The palace, mosque, and fountains abound with inscriptions
in the Tatar language; those from the Koran are in the
Arabic; they are all highly interesting from their novelty,
and the peculiar idiom of the Tatar language; they also show
in a favourable point of view the degree of civilization the
Tatars had attained, together with the paternal rule of their
khans. They were all translated for me by the Tatar inter-
preter, in the suite of Prince Worrenzow; that over the gate
of the palace, dated anno 953, tells us:—
“This magnificent gate was constructed by the command
of the illustrious ruler of two seas and two empires, Khadgi-
Guérai Khan, son of Mengli-Guérai Khan and Sultan, Son of
a Sultan.” -
Over the principal entrance of the palace mosque we have
the following:—
“Who was Khadgi Selim? The most illustrious of all the
khans of Krim Tatary. The hero by God’s divine power.
May the Almighty God, in his supreme kindness, recompense
Khadgi Selim, for it was he that commenced the erection of
this beautiful mosque. Who completed the work'ſ Schlamet
Guérai Khan, the son of his love, the rose now in full bearing,
who has become the Padischah, and lion of the Crimea
Anno 1153.” |
The fountains, many of them constructed with great beauty
and elegance, have also their separate inscriptions, denoting by .
whom they were erected. That over the principal one, called
Selsebil, the most interesting and naïve in its language, says:–
“Rejoice! rejoice! Bagtche-Serai! For the enlightened
266 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Frim Guérai Khan, ever benevolent, ever solicitous for the wel-
fare of his children, discovered this excellent spring of the purest
water, and through his own munificence erected this beautiful
fountain. Glory to God most Omnipotent! If there exists
such another fountain in the universe, let it be found ! Scham
and Bagdad have assuredly many glorious things, but they
have no fountain so magnificent. Anno 1170.”
Bagtche-Serai, which translated means a palace in a garden,
still contains thirty-two mosques, besides three Tatar uni-
versities, and several extensive khans for the accommodation
of travellers. If we are to credit the accounts of the Tatars,
while lamenting over the ruins of their once splendid capital,
it must indeed have been most magnificent before the Crimea
was overrun by the armies of the empress Catherine, whose
wanton barbarity and atrocities, when taking possession of
this ill-fated town, almost exceed belief; besides plundering
the inhabitants of everything they were possessed of, the very
tombs were violated in search of treasure, and whole streets
demolished, through an insane passion for destruction, while
one of the country seats of the khans in the environs, which
it appears was a miracle of neatness and ingenuity, was
entirely erased from the earth, in their search after gold and
silver, and other valuables, which it was supposed the khans
kept in cellars underground.
Even now, although so many years have elapsed since
Russia has established her rule in the Crimea, we hear these
poor people enumerate the barbarities that were perpetrated
upon their country by Potemkin and his host of rapacious
agents, with as much vivacity and freshness of colouring as
if these horrors had only occurred yesterday; and as the
creed of Mahomet does not inculcate forgiveness, this im-
placable hatred to Russia and her rule is likely to be per-
petuated from generation to generation. Nay, they even look
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 267
forward with certainty to the day when, according to an old
prophecy current among them, “a mighty Sultan of their
race is to issue forth from the Caucasus, at the head of an
army of Circassians and Tatars, numerous as the Sand on the
sea-shore, and totally destroy the Russian empire.” Poor
people! they may indulge in this and other illusions, but the
world will never again see Tatar rule established in the Crimea.
Even assuming that the Russians were driven out to-morrow,
the Christians who inhabit the towns, united with the co-
lonists, who may be termed the progresistas, would be more
than a match for the Tatars scattered about as agriculturists
and shepherds, without energy or enterprise, and scarcely
numbering 300,000—all that now remains of that once nume-
rous people; and although they possess many eminent virtues,
civilization would not gain by the exchange.
What a tissue of intrigue and fraud, violence and corrup-
tion might there not be unfolded to the world by an historian
who possessed the key to Russian policy! In this instance,
enough has been revealed in the Memoirs of the Empress
Catherine, by T. Castera, to tell us by what means the Rus-
sians obtained possession of the Crimea, and how admirably
they succeeded, after a few years, in destroying the nation-
ality of the people. However, in the present instance, it
happens that the Russians compelled the Tatars to pay a
debt that had been long owing to their forefathers. In the
following sketch we will endeavour to give the reader some
idea of the conquest of the Crimea by Russia.
On the fall of the Roman empire, the Crimea, like every other
country in Europe bordering on Asia, after being successively
overrun by various marauding hordes, Huns and Scythians,
came at length into the possession of Ghenghis Khan, who
conquered nearly the whole of China, India, and Eastern
Tatary, devastated the countries on the Caspian Sea, crossed
|
268 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
the Wolga, and laid waste great part of Russia, whose princes
became his tributaries. The immense empire he left to his suc-
cessors soon fell to pieces, from its very vastness, and all that
remained to his descendants were the Crimea, together with
those extensive countries watered by the Don, the Wolga, the
Dnieper, and the Dniester, more generally known as Western
Tatary. But their power in process of time gradually de-
clined, till at length their independence became little more
than nominal, at one time struggling for existence with the
Ottoman Porte, and at another with the Tzars of Moscovy. .
In tracing the history of the Khans of Krim Tatary, we
find that in their relation with the Ottoman Porte they were
considered more as allies than tributaries. Among the most
distinguished we may number Hadgi Selim Guérai, who sub-
dued in a single, campaign the united armies of Austria,
Poland, and Russia, saved the standard of the prophet, which
had fallen into the hands of the enemy, and established on a
firm basis the Ottoman power, which had been previously on
the decline. This great warrior, whom his biographers, both
Christian and Mahometan, represent as brave, magnanimous,
and generous, was so popular with the Turks, that the janis-
saries proposed to elevate him to the throne of Turkey.
In 1716, the twenty-fourth Khan, Devlet Guérai, in con-
junction with the Turks, reduced Peter the Great of Russia to
the last extremity, compelling him to sign the treaty of the
Pruth, and resign the whole of his conquests in the countries
beyond the Sea of Azow. It appears however that the Crimea
pleased the Russians, and that they were determined to have
it; for we find in a subsequent war with the Turks, they
made it a pretext for invading that country, which they
ravaged with fire and sword, and entirely destroyed Karas-
Sou-bazaar, a town containing a population of 20,000 in-
habitants,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 269
The Crimea in 1764 again made a struggle for existence,
as we see Krim-Guérai, the thirty-fifth Khan, on the decla-
ration of war between the Porte and Russia, marching at the
head of 50,000 Tatars and 130,000 Turks, to revenge the
Wrongs of his country. This brave warrior, adored by his
subjects and lamented by the Turks, was poisoned by a
Greek physician, at Bender, in Besserabia, it is said at the in-
stigation of the Russians. This Khan is thought to have re-
Sembled his great ancestor, Ghenghis Khan, in his person and
warlike spirit; and although he only reigned seven years, he
never permitted those eternal enemies of his country and
race, the Russians, to cross the frontiers. His heroism as a
warrior, and his virtues as a ruler, are still the theme of all
the Tatar bards in the Crimea.
The Tatars, dejected by the loss of their warlike Khan,
and deserted by their degenerate allies the Turks, soon fell a
prey to the political intrigues of Russia, carried on by the
well-known favourite of Catherine, Prince Potemkin ; and
now the Crimea having two pretenders to the throne in
Devlet Guérai and Chahyn Guérai, that circumstance was
made the pretext for exciting a civil war; and, as usual on
such occasions, the Tatars found, to their sorrow, that they
had two rulers, instead of one, claiming their allegiance, each
looking for protection from one or other of the two great
powers on their frontier: if Devlet found a supporter in the
Sultan of Turkey, his rival met with assistance as willingly
tendered at the hand of the Tzarina Catherine. Devlet Guérai,
as a matter of course, was driven from the throne; and the
august Catherine, in order to ensure the Safety of her protégé,
Chahyn Guérai, from his rebellious subjects, garrisoned with
her own troops the strong fortresses of Kerteh Yemi-Kalé, and
Kilbouroun on the Dnieper. This was, however, merely the
prelude of the grand farce intended to follow. The imbecile
270 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Chahyn was compelled to renounce every tie that bound him
to his suzerain of Turkey; and the Crimea was formally
declared independent, with a special clause in the treaty
which placed the country under the sole and immediate pro-
tection of the Tzarina of all the Russias . Things remained
in this state till Selim, the Son of Devlet, who had been edu-
cated in Circassia, appeared on the stage, at the head of a
band of those daring warriors of the Caucasus, the Circassians
and the Lesghians, commanded by their prophet and leader,
the far-famed Elijah Mansour, when a struggle commenced,
the most interesting of any recorded in the history of Krim
Tatary; but as it is not the object of our present work to
enter into the details of history, we shall merely add, that
after a series of battles won and lost on either side, the
authority of Russia was ultimately established over the
Crimea and the whole of the adjoining provinces: the ill-
fated Chahyn, after being for years the pensioner of Russia,
fell into the hands of the Turks, and died the death of the
traitor.
In the meantime, when the plains were lost, and every
strong town and fortress in the country was in possession of
the soldiers of Catherine, the Khan Selim, with his band of
patriotic Tatars, took to the mountains, where, after gal-
lantly disputing each valley, defile, and fastness with the
enemy, just as hope appeared to have deserted them, a
Turkish fleet forced its way into the bay of Yalta, and carried
them off to Circassia. An emigration now commenced, which
neither the promises nor the threats of Russia could prevent
—an emigration which left entire districts in the Crimea and
the adjoining provinces of Western Tatary a desert. From that
day to the present hour, the descendants of these patriotic
Tatars have continued, in conjunction with their hosts the
Circassians and the Lesghians, to oppose every attempt of
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 271
Russia to subdue the Caucasus. Thus was consummated the
final overthrow of the dynasty of the Tatar race in the Crimea,
by the very people who had formerly bowed to their sway,+
themselves doomed, in their turn, to give way before the
invading might of who shall say what unknown power!
Still, however much the inhabitants of the Crimea may
have suffered from the atrocities of the first invaders of their
country, Prince Potemkin and his rapacious soldiery, it is
but just to record that at present they have not much to
complain of ; for though the Russian authority and laws are
paramount, yet all questions merely local are left to be set-
tled by their own elders: nor are their peculiar national
customs, religion, or usages interfered with in any material
degree. For this just and equitable administration, and the
amelioration consequent upon it, the Tatars are in some
measure indebted to Prince Worrenzow, who, since he has
filled his high position of Governor-general of South Russia,
has exhibited those virtues which most adorn a ruler,-wis-
dom, justice, and benevolence.
The inhabitants of a country like the Crimea, so frequently
overrun by such a variety of predatory hordes, present a
singular mélange of races; and although the Mahometans are
called Tatars, and speak the Tatar language, the difference in
their features is most striking. For instance, the moun-
taineers on the south coast, being in general tall and well
made, with regular features and intelligent countenances, are
infinitely superior in personal appearance, and also in civiliza-
tion, to their brethren of the steppe.
We find the greatest variety of the Tatar tribes in that
part of the steppe called Moloshnia Woda, and on the isthmus
of Pérécop, from the great Crimean steppe, to the countries
beyond the Sea of Azow. Among these tribes, the Nogay is,
perhaps, the purest specimen of the Tatar race in these pro-
272 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
vinces. They have taken their name from that of their first
leader, Sultan Nogay, one of the most renowned among the
warrior chiefs of Ghenghis Khan, who, after the death of that
great chieftain of all the Tatars, placed himself at the head of
a powerful tribe, and conquered Moldavia, Besserabia, Bul-
garia, and the various countries on the Wolga and the Caspian
Sea; where his descendants continued to reign till, after a
succession of wars waged against them by the Original inha-
bitants, Russians, Poles, and Dacians, their complete Subjuga-
tion, nay, even partial extermination, was effected.
The Nogay Tatars assert that they originally came from
Tschagatai, in Eastern Tatary, and that they are the only
true descendants of Ishmael. They are generally robust and
well made. The yellow brown, and even darker tint, of their
complexions, results more from continual exposure to the
weather than from any constitutional peculiarity, as we have
occasionally met with complexions of nearly European fair-
ness among this race, in the towns of New and South Russia.
The features of the Nogay, although strongly marked with
the usual characteristics of the Tatar race, are frequently not
unpleasing, and derive considerable expression from an eye
which, without being large, is intelligent and full of fire.
The Nogays, as indeed most of the other Tatar tribes, have
at all-times followed a pastoral mode of life, for which alone
their steppes are adapted. There is no district in the British
Islands to which the word steppe is strictly applicable: the
word is of Russian derivation, and used to designate a vast
tract of champaign country, destitute of trees, and unbroken
by any eminence except the tumuli which everywhere abound,
giving a peculiar character to these vast solitudes of nature.
What is usually termed the Great Steppe extends almost
uninterruptedly from the empire of China to the Danube,
the Karpathians, and the Baltic, including the whole of
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 273
Eastern Tatary, a great part of the Crimea, Besserabia, the
countries in the vicinity of the Caucasus and the Caspian
Sea, particularly the neighbourhood of Astrakan, the Wolga,
and the Sea of Azow; to this we may add immense districts
of Old Russia and Poland. This boundless country is more
or less exposed to the influence of dry winds, and being but
scantily supplied with rivers, and little refreshed by rain, the
arid soil must be appropriated to the rearing of sheep and
cattle, though how they obtain sufficient nourishment from
the scanty herbage appears surprising.
TATAR FARM-YART).
In some parts of the Crimea, Besserabia, and the neigh-
bourhood of the great rivers, the Wolga, Dniester, Don, &c.
the inhabitants succeed by the most laborious system of irri-
T

274 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
gation in raising abundant crops of every species of grain and
vegetables; trees, however, with all the attention that can be
bestowed upon them, generally die in the course of a few years.
The steppe suits the habits of the Nogay, because, like the
rest of his race, he regards tilling the ground as an occupa-
tion altogether unworthy the free sons of Ishmael; and none
of the other inhabitants succeed so well in the rearing of
flocks and herds, especially in breeding horses. These
animals constitute one of the chief sources of his wealth, and
are much admired for their good qualities by the inhabitants
of the neighbouring countries, the trade forming a source of
great profit to the Sons of Israel, who monopolize it, and
export them principally to Poland and Old Russia. Still the
steppe horses are by no means what we should call in England
a noble race; they are, however, serviceable, and, as a proof
of their ability to bear fatigue, we frequently rode one thirty
miles without baiting, and then the only provender to be got
was dried steppe grass, and bad pit water; and at night they
are turned loose on the steppe to forage for themselves.
The Nogay indeed always prefers this airy and economical
hotel; for, in addition to the agreeable absence of a landlord's
bill, in this land of horse-stealers he considers his horses
Safer on the steppe than in a village. Hence the traveller
and his Tatar are ever at variance; the one is desirous when
night approaches of taking up his abode at the nearest village,
while the other always looks out to discover a desirable spot
for bivouacking; the base of a tumulus, or the bed of a dried-
up river, which afford shelter from the night air, and luxuriant
herbage, offer a temptation irresistible. He therefore all at
once finds out that his horses are lame; at all events, he can
proceed no further. Remonstrance is useless with a Tatar,
for, like his autocrat the Tzar, his will is absolute; and, with
the most imperturbable gravity, no matter how much you may
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 275
storm and threaten, he commences his operations to pass the
night by unsaddling the horses, and tying their fore-legs, that
they may not wander too far. Weeds and dried manure are
then collected to make a fire; for it must be remembered, on
the steppe there is not even the ghost of a tree. When the
beloved tehorba is prepared and eaten, and the tehibogue.
Smoked, like a good Mahometan he throws himself on his
face towards the east, offers up a short prayer to Allah, rolls
himself up like a snake in his bourka, and sleeps perhaps
more contentedly than his Tzar. On such occasions the tra-
veller would do well to follow the example of his Tatar;
otherwise he runs the risk of carrying home with him
a steppe fever, or what is worse, ophthalmia. In enumerating
the inconveniences attendant on steppe travelling in New
Russia and South Russia, we may state that one might as
well attempt to steer a vessel at sea without a compass, as to
journey over one of these boundless plains without a Tatar
guide, whose practised eye can always estimate the distance
by the position or peculiar form of the tumuli, which he
separately distinguishes, and with the same facility as a shep-
herd does his flocks and herds.
Indeed, the Tatar of these Russian steppes is not less dis-
tinguished for the sharpness of his eyesight than the quickness
of his hearing. His falcon eye, at the most incredible dis-
tance, discovers, as it ranges over the immeasurable steppe,
his own flocks and herds; nay, he can even tell the colour,
and what appears to a stranger in the far distance to be black
spots on the horizon, he will separately describe as horses,
sheep, or oxen; and his hearing is so acute, that by throwing
himself upon the earth, he will tell you, by their peculiar
neighing or bleating, which are his own cattle. He is also
familiar with every indication of a change in the atmosphere,
and knows nearly to a minute the hour of the day.
276 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
His presence of mind and invention are not less remark-
able, he is prepared for every danger, and with an answer to
every question; if your carriage breaks down, his little hatchet,
ever stuck in his belt, is ready to repair it; if you want a rope,
he will spin you one out of the hairs of his horse's tail, or
the long wiry grass on the steppe; and if you are unwell, he
is acquainted with an herb which will serve as a remedy for
every ailment. Indeed, we have ourselves more than once
observed and admired their fertility in resources; for while
a stupid German colonist, or a Moscovite, would be circum-
navigating their brains in Search of a plan to help him out
of his difficulties, a Tatar will have hit upon one and
executed it. Yet, with all these natural advantages, the
Tatar in Russia is, with little exception, the same enemy to
civilization as his forefathers; to which the hostility to
change, so interwoven with the religion of Mahomet, has
contributed not a little. His dwelling, composed of mud or
bricks dried in the sun, is destitute of every comfort ; his
habits, manners, and customs, even to the utensils for cook-
ing, have undergone little or no alteration; his riches still
consist in the number of his flocks and herds; and the size
and antiquity of the copper caldron, so religiously preserved
by the chief, is proudly displayed to the stranger as a me-
morial of the numbers of his tribe in former days.
One of the most agreeable features in the character of the
Tatar is his hospitality. The stranger, no matter what may
be his creed or nation, provided he is not a thieving Cossack,
is certain to find a hearty welcome; and such is the provident
care of this people for the wants of the destitute traveller,
that a khan, or species of inn called the Oda, has been estab-
lished from time immemorial in all the towns and villages
that were formerly included in the dominions of the khans
of Western Tatary, where he is still supplied with a divan,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 277
fire, and refreshment at the expense of the community; to
obtain which he has only to make application to the On-Bachi,
the elder of the village.
The Tatar may be called industrious, for he builds his pwn
house, and makes the furniture, such as it is; he also tends
his cattle on the steppe and works of husbandry; but the man
is indolent compared with the woman, who, in addition to
her household affairs, has to spin, and weave the linen, and
prepare the lamb-skins with which the family are clothed;
she has also to manufacture a species of soap from an herb
that grows on the steppe, called Alabota, and to wander to
the banks of the Don in search of the wild tea plant, which
is universally drunk by the Tatars; instead, however, of using
Sugar and milk, as we do, they season it with butter, pepper,
and Salt.
Regardless as these people may be of all the comforts of
domestic life, originating, no doubt, from the custom of their
forefathers living in tents, they are neat and elegant in every-
thing appertaining to dress, and take great delight on gala days
in seeing their women and children look gay. The caftan of
the chief of a tribe, made of silk or fine blue cloth, braided
with silver or gold, is a most expensive article of dress; so is
the high fur cap, made from the finest lamb-skin, to which
we may add the splendid girdle, richly embroidered and
ornamented with precious stones. In the dress of the women,
which consists of gaudy coloured trowsers, yellow slippers,
silk gowns braided and ornamented with gold or silver
buttons, and a species of Turkish fez, there is a grand
display of jewellery, in immense earrings, bracelets on the
arms, and chains round the neck, Sometimes of the most
costly description, and of great antiquity. Like most Ma-
hometan women, they never leave home without being enve-
loped in the yashmak. As with their neighbours, the Turks,
278 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
whom they resemble very much in their habits, customs, and
manners, Smoking appears indispensable to the existence of
the whole Tatar race, men, women, and children; but accord-
ing to the idiom of their language, they do not smoke the
fragrant herb, but drink it, tutun-itschmeck ; nor is this
altogether a figurative expression, for, during the greatest
heat and fatigue, the Tatar prefers the pipe to cool his thirst
to every kind of drink, however agreeable.
The Tatars of the Russian steppe, like all pastoral people
whose wants are few, can procure for themselves a sufficiency
of the mere necessaries of life, but nothing beyond; and,
owing to the admirable system of each tribe providing for
the necessities of all its members who suffer from misfortune,
sickness, or old age, we never meet with a person in a state
of absolute destitution. Their villages, which are generally
partly buried in the earth, or burrowed into the banks of
Some dried-up river, where water flowed, perhaps, two thou-
Sand years ago, are miserable in the extreme—nothing better
than a species of human warren. However, here, as in the
low lands of Moldo-Wallachia, these semi-barbarian tribes
have shown their wisdom; for while the colonist, who has
built himself a comfortable house above ground, suffers from
ophthalmia and intermittent fever, the Tatar seldom or never
becomes the victim of either-experience having proved that
the miasma is only dangerous at a certain distance from the
earth. We had an opportunity, while wandering some years
ago in the vicinity of the Putrid Sea, and the Sea of Azow,
the most insalubrious part of the Crimea, of proving the cor-
rectness of this opinion, as we invariably observed, before the
rising and after the setting of the Sun, a heavy mist hanging
over the earth, when it was only necessary to ascend a tumu-
lus, or descend into a Tatar hut, to be completely beyond its
influence. *
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 279
Among the other evils to which these interminable steppes
are exposed, we must include the ravages occasionally com-
mitted by the locusts, who destroy the whole of the vegetation
in a few days. This, with the drought that generally prevails
during four or five months in the year, must render them,
unless some extraordinary change takes place in the climate,
altogether unsuited to any other use than the rearing of
cattle. That great physical changes have taken place in these
countries, we have abundant proofs in the extinction of the
numerous rivers that once fertilized them, whose beds may
be traced with the utmost facility to the sources from whence
the waters originally flowed. Even in the time of Mithridates,
the Crimean steppe was famous for its fertility, and teemed
with inhabitants; of which we have sufficient evidence, with-
out referring to history, in the ruins of numerous towns and
cities. The soil of the steppe is everywhere of a deep dark
mould, which merely requires a shower of rain to produce, as
if by enchantment, the most luxuriant crop of grass, with a
variety of the most beautiful and interesting flowers and
plants; but, alas ! to disappear again in a few weeks, when
the dry scorching east and north-east winds prevail.
In short, we cannot describe the appearance of the steppe
more accurately than did Strabo, when he speaks of it as a
region destitute alike of woods, hills, and stones. And this is
the character of the whole of those immense countries usually
denominated Eastern and Western Tatary, exhibiting no
greater variety of objects for the eye to rest upon than
tumuli, earth, and sky; and, however vast their extent may
appear on the map, as forming a part of the dominions of the
Tzar, they tend rather to weaken than strengthen the re-
sources of the Russian empire. To which we may add, there
is a very long and badly defined line of frontier to defend
against the incursions of the many wandering independent
280 * TURKEY, RUSSIA,
hordes of Tatars; add to which, the barrenness of the soil,
the want of water, and all the other privations to which an
army is exposed, destroy more men than would the most
disastrous campaign, whenever the Russians attempt to
cross it.
C Z A R .
T H E

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 281
CHAPTER XX.
Journey from Bagłche-Serai—Pass of the Merdven—Beautiful scenery of the
Crimea—Arrival at Aloupka—Visit of the Emperor Nicholas—Description of
his person and manners—Woyage round the Black Sea—Yalta—Caffa—The Cim-
merian Bosphorus—Kerich—Interesting ruins—The Isle of Taman–Tumuli—
The river Kouban—Visit to the Tchermemorsky Cossacks.
ON our journey from Bagtche-Serai, to the residence of prince
Worronzow at Aloupka, we passed through the romantic
valley of Baidar, a most agreeable contrast to the tourist,
after the parched steppe we described in our last chapter.
Here we found every hill and mountain clothed to the
Summit with the foliage of a thousand trees, and all the rare
plants and flowering shrubs peculiar to a temperate clime,
with the wild vine and every species of parasitical plant
entwining around the huge trunks of the trees, here forming a
leafy bower, and there hanging in graceful festoons, altogether
displaying a picture which showed how well this charming
valley deserved its romantic appellation of the “Taurica. Ar-
cadia;” for, in addition to its picturesque beauties, it has the
advantage of being protected from the scorching winds of the
steppe by an encircling chain of mountains, and at the same
time of being irrigated by numerous rivulets; hence every
282 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
production peculiar to the most favourable clime arrives at
the highest perfection. Indeed, the whole of the south coast
of the Crimean peninsula, with its romantic valleys and
mountains, well deserves to be termed the Switzerland of
Russia; while the pretty villages of the Tatars, with their
tiny mosques and minarets, embosomed in the foliage of their
rich orchards, add a novel and peculiar feature to the
Scenery.
After wandering for some time through this lovely valley,
we commenced the ascent of the Merdven, the only passage
from here to the Sea-coast: the road, or rather bridle-path, is
carried up the almost perpendicular side of a rock, of terrific
elevation, in zigzag cuttings, one above another, as it were
stories. We have no account at what epoch this road was
constructed; it is, however, generally supposed to have been
executed by the ancient Greeks, and really deserves to be
called a journey in the air; for of all the dangerous passes we
ever traversed, this is the most precipitous and bold, and,
were it not for the sure-footedness of the Tatar horses, would
be highly dangerous. The view from the summit, including
the greatest part of the mountain coast of the Crimea, and
the Euxine as far as the eye can reach, amply repay the
fatigue and peril of the ascent. On descending, we had to
encounter a similar precipitous path till we came to the
village of Koutschouck-Koi, the usual resting-place of the
caravan; from whence we proceeded through a narrow pas-
sage hewn out of the rock: and, as we were now at a con-
siderable elevation above the sea, we continued to enjoy at
every turn a new landscape of the boldest and most pic-
turesque scenery in the Crimea, till we arrived at the magni-
ficent chateau of Prince Worronzow.
The first ceremonies of introduction to the prince and his
family were scarcely over, when we were startled by a Rus-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 283
sian officer galloping madly up to the windows of the castle,
waving his hand, and exclaiming, “The Tzar !—the Tzar !”
He had scarcely ceased speaking, when a drotscké, covered
with dust, dashed up the avenue with the speed of lightning,
and the Autocrat of all the Russias was standing in the midst
of us. Never shall I forget that tall, manly, majestic figure,
habited in a plain military frock and white linen cap; nor
those handsome, regular features, slightly bronzed with the
summer's sun, adding increased expression to a countenance
rarely surpassed for intellect, animation, and decision. If
the fine person of the emperor is certain to prepossess the
stranger in his favour, that impression is confirmed by his
frank, dignified, and, we might say, fascinating manners.
After Saluting the ladies, and shaking hands with the gen-
tlemen, more as a friend than a monarch, he chatted with the
surrounding circle gaily and familiarly, had something kind
or flattering to say to each ; in short, he assumed the tone of
a guest who knew and felt he was welcome, rather than that of
the autocrat of the lives, fortunes, and liberties of more than
sixty millions of human beings. He spoke of England and
the English in the most flattering manner ; Said how pleased
he was to see them at all times in Russia, and hoped, on our
return, that we would tell them of the beautiful scenery of
the Crimea, in order that they might come in numbers and
make it their summer tour, now that there was such facility
of travelling by steam. Can we then wonder at the extreme
popularity he enjoys in Russia, or that noble and peasant are
alike proud of their Tzar ; and can we feel surprised that the
urbanity and condescension of his manners should win the
affections of those who are admitted to converse with him
intimately, soften the prejudices of the sternest republican,
and ensure him friends in every court in Europe?
After conversing a short time, privately, with Prince
284 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Worronzow, and taking a slight refreshment—a biscuit and a
glass of wine and water-he quitted us with the same graceful
courtesy, and was again in his light drotscké, attended by an
aide-de-camp, rattling over the ill-made roads of the Crimea,
regardless of everything but speed. This is the man who has
now unexpectedly placed himself in opposition to the two
leading powers of the civilization of the world. This inde-
fatigable monarch arrived only the night before at Sebastopol;
and, after inspecting the fortifications, drove across the Penin-
sula to Orianda, to take a glance at the palace then building
for the empress, under the superintendence of Mr. Hunt, an
English architect.
It is very rarely in this world of crosses and disappoint-
ments that a man finds cause to be grateful to his stars,
but ours seemed at this time to be in the ascendant; for,
after passing a few weeks with Prince Worronzow at his
chateau near Aloupka, and enjoying his hospitality and that
of a number of Russian noblemen who have here their sum-
mer residence, he one morning announced, to the great grati-
fication of a large circle of friends, that he had received a
command from the emperor to make a coasting voyage round
the Black Sea, to visit Circassia, Mingrelia, and all the other
Trans-Caucasian provinces of Russia. His excellency Prince
Worronzow having kindly included us in the invitation, we
looked forward with pleasure to behold that land of bravery,
romance, and beauty, so long one of our fondest wishes.
We shall, therefore, at once, take our readers to the pretty
town and harbour of Yalta, where we found the war-steamer
JPeter the Great, and a little fleet of corvettes and cutters,
waiting the orders of the governor-general.
Yalta, entirely the creation of Prince Worronzow, is
destined to be, at no great distance of time, a highly-commer-
cial and populous city: the harbour is safe, the anchorage all
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 285.
that the mariner could desire ; and nothing can exceed the
beauty and fertility of the surrounding country; for, being
protected from the scorching winds of the steppe and the
cold blighting blasts of the north, all the productions of a
more southern clime here attain the highest perfection, and
the wines produced are already so much prized as to find a
place at the emperor's table.
It was a pleasing sight to see this pretty town, here nestling
within a sheltered curve of the sea, there rising into an amphi-
theatre of noble-looking buildings, surrounded by Orchards,
terraced vineyards, and park-like grounds, in a place which,
only a few years previous, was little better than a desert.
Nor must we forget to adorn our picture with the splendid
country seats of those old Moscovite princely families,
the Nariskins and the Galitzins,—forming altogether an
interesting example of what civilization, energy, and enter-
prise can achieve, and at the same time showing the contrast
between a Mahometan and a Christian community ; for while
the one dams up at its source the current of improvement and
leaves society and its institutions stationary, the other not
only purifies the stream of mind, but leaves it free to flow
onward, and bless each succeeding age with a greater degree
of knowledge than its predecessor. And although we are no
admirers of the despotism of the Autocrat of the North, nor
of that of his Church, the Oriental, still we cannot deny that
the Russian people have displayed more energy and activity
in whatever they have undertaken, since they came to rank
among the great families of Europe, than any other, except the
Anglo-Saxon race.
At length, every preparation being completed, we left Yalta,
in the midst of a deafening farewell salute from the guns of
the fortress and all the Russian men-of-war at anchor in the
harbour. Our voyage was in truth the very perfection of
286 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Sailing ; for, unless we should be visited by a thunder-storm,
this part of the Black Sea is seldom agitated even by a swell
during the summer months, and now it merely changed from a
glassy calm to a feathery ripple, while the murmur caused by -
the prow of the corvette was not sufficient even to overpower
the softer strains of the fine band of music as they floated be-
yond the bulwarks, and were re-echoed by the rocky coast.
We shall not trouble the reader by giving him an account
of the sayings and doings of the noble and distinguished
Russians that accompanied us on this interesting voyage.
We have already alluded to that in a previous work. For the
present, it is merely necessary to say, there was no want
of amusement, while the provident forethought of our kind
host, Prince Worronzow, anticipated not only every want, but
even wish. -
The first port at which our little fleet came to anchor was
Theodosia, or, as the Russians call it, Caffa. The anchorage
here is exceedingly good; and, being sheltered from every
wind except the east and South-east, which it appears, in this
part of the Black Sea, never blows with sufficient violence to
threaten any serious danger to a vessel at anchor in the har-
bour, there is every prospect of Caffa becoming as important
a place as it was in the days of its former rulers, the Genoese.
At that time it contained a hundred and fifty thousand inha-
bitants; and, owing to the beauty and splendour of its public
buildings, received the appellation of the Constantinople of
the Crimea; but so complete was the destruction of the unfor-
tunate town by the Turks, in 1476, that the only memorial
we now see of Italian enterprise is a watch-tower and the
massive ruins of the fortifications.
Soon after leaving Caffa, the beautiful mountain coast of the
Crimea, that we had so long admired, fell at once into a mono-
tonous steppe, without a tree to relieve the aspect of the dreary.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 287
waste, or even the hut of a Tatar to tell us that man was
here a denizen. This desolation is the more extraordinary,
since we learn from the writings of the Genoese, in the
fifteenth century, that the whole of the district lying between
Theodosia and the Sea of Azow was crowded with villages,
and produced such abundance of corn as to be called the
principal granary of the Crimea. Has this wide-spread deso-
lation been caused by the war between the inhabitants and
the Turks, or has the climate entirely changed since that period?
After passing the remains of the fortified wall, which once.
formed the boundary of the ancient kingdom of the Bosphorus,
we doubled Cape Thakli, and entered the Cimmerian Bospho-
rus, which unites the Black Sea with the Sea of Azow, and
here forms the boundary between Europe and Asia. We were
now in the centre of countries connected with some of the most
brilliant periods in the history of the Greeks and Romans,—
countries that formed the emporium of the commerce of
Athens, which enriched her citizens, and established her as
a great maritime power; and witnessed in after days some
of the greatest triumphs of mighty Rome. Indeed, each
side of the strait through which we were now passing abounds
with the most interesting objects of antiquity in the numerous
ruins of ancient cities, and in the surprising number and size
of the tumuli we everywhere see scattered over the whole
face of the country.
Favoured by a breeze and a strong current, we soon passed
through the strait, and cast anchor at Kerteh, the ancient
Panticapeum, once the wealthy capital of the well-known
warrior-king Mithridates Eupator. Kerteh is the most ani-
mated seaport in the Crimea, and from its position remark-
ably well adapted for a commercial station. Like its rival,
Caffa, it is surrounded by an amphitheatre of hills, partly
covered with houses, rising up from its beautiful bay to the
288 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
heights above, where we still find some remains of a temple,
and the palace of Mithridates; but beyond this the whole of
the remaining country is a level steppe, destitute of foliage,
and nearly so of vegetation.
We stayed a couple of days at Kerteh, for the purpose of
enabling our party to visit the remains of the numerous
cities and other interesting objects of antiquity that here
abound. Besides the ruins of the palace of Mithridates, we
distinctly traced the acropolis of the town, and all the other
sites and places mentioned in history, where the Cimme-
rium, the Akra, Nymphi, and Myrmicium stood. We also
found at Yeni-Kalé, near the Sea of Azow, the ruins of the
city of Orthmion, and on the Isle of Tarran all that now
exists of the once splendid city of Phanagoria, famous for
its Naumachia. And, by a singular chance, we discovered
on the island a marble slab, placed there, in 1065, by a
Russian prince named Glebb, son of Waldimir, who, it ap-
pears, ruled over these countries at that time. The in-
Scription recorded that he had measured the breadth of the
Cimmerian Bosphorus on the ice, it being then frozen over,
and found it, from the town of Timoutirokan, the ancient
Phanagoria, to Panticapeum, now Kertch, to be 30.053
fathoms.
We found everywhere on our route, the tumuli, several of
them as large as little hills, particularly those in the vicinity
of the strait; which proves that the whole of this country,
now for the most part a barren steppe, must have been at
one time inhabited by a very numerous population. That
they were opulent, we have sufficient evidence in the variety
of gold ornaments, beautiful vases, statues, and sculptured
tombs, that are occasionally found in the ruins of cities, or
whenever an opening is made in the tumuli.
With regard to the origin of the tumuli, if we may depend
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 289
upon traditions, they were a voluntary tribute of the people
to the memory of some departed chieftains, whose actions
during life had won their admiration and respect. It appears
to have been the custom, after depositing the ashes of the
deceased in an urn, enclosed within a tomb, that every man
who loved him for his good qualities, carried a portion of
earth and threw it on his tomb. Be this as it may, the idea
of a mountain-monument, commemorating, as it were till
She end of time, the affection of an entire people for their
departed chief, is at once solemn and beautiful. At all
events, the truth of the tradition has been in some measure
confirmed by the manner in which the Scots formerly
constructed their cairns; nay, in the north of Scotland it is
still customary to Say, as expressive of affection and esteem,
“I will cast a stone upon thy cairn.”
On leaving Kerteh we steered direct for the coast of Cir-
cassia, whose mountains, as we advanced, became gradually
more and more clearly defined on the horizon. We first
explored the mouth of the Kouban, a river which rises in
Mount Elbrous, and after running through the mountains
and valleys of the Caucasus, divides into three arms, two
of which fall into the sea of Azow, and the third and most
considerable into the Black Sea. Being favoured, among
Some others of our party, with a seat in the private yacht
of the prince, we had the pleasure of accompanying him
when he landed on the right bank of the river, in the country
of the Tchernemorsky (Black Sea) Cossacks, as the prince was
desirous to have a private interview with the Ataman, who
here met us with a squadron of Cossacks, as fine-looking,
soldier-like fellows as could be found in any country, all
well-grown, athletic, and remarkably handsome features cast
in the Grecian mould.
The Tchernemorsky Cossacks, that here guard the frontier
D
290 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
with those of the Don, at present acknowledge the crown
prince of Russia as their sovereign, under the title of Grand
Ataman, Strictly, speaking, these are the only true Cossacks;
for although all the military colonists settled in other dis-
tricts of the Russian frontier bear the name of Cossack,
they are altogether of a different race, and governed by
other customs and laws, and by no means equal to them
in bravery.
This warlike people, the Tchernemorsky and Don Cossacks,
date their origin as far back as the year 800, being at that
time composed of a multitude of adventurers from every
nation under heaven, who formed themselves into a sort of
roving republic, till they ultimately settled on the banks of
the Dnieper, beyond the cataract, from which they received
the name of Zaporogztzi, or the people who live beyond the
CataractS. -
Here, owing to their predatory habits and bravery, they
were for centuries a serious annoyance to their neighbours,
the Russians, Poles, Turks, and Tatars; and, as they ever
maintained a sort of wild independence, they were accus-
tomed, according to caprice, or through the hope of plunder,
to place themselves under the protection of one or other of
their powerful neighbours. Russia, however, was generally
preferred, on account of professing, like themselves, the Greek
religion. In the armies of whatever temporary master they
might select, their bravery never failed to distinguish them.
At a later period, their adhesion to Russia—for they were
never conquered—has been attended with great advantages to
that power, having more than once, in her long and Sangui-
nary wars with the Poles, the Turks, and the Tatars, turned
the fortune of the day in her favour.
When Catherine ascended the throne of Russia, partly with
a view to weaken the strength of this powerful military com-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 291
munity, and partly to direct their predatory and warlike
spirit against the Circassians, she succeeded in inducing a large
body, by most advantageous offers of land, to emigrate to
Kouban-Tatary, which had been only recently wrested from
the Khans of Krim-Tatary. They now occupy the whole
of that district, extending on the right bank of the Kouban
from the river Laban to the Aoust, near the sea of Azow,
which separates them from their brethren of the Don. This,
together with the Isle of Taman, comprehends an extent of
upwards of a thousand square miles. Although they possess
the privilege of electing their own Ataman, and being
governed by their own laws, their independence, owing to the
continued encroachments of the Russian government, is now
merely nominal. There is no love between them and the
Moscovite of old Russia; they regard each other with feelings
of mutual dislike and distrust, which has been aggravated by
the repeated attempts of the Cossacks to recover some portion
of their lost rights and liberties, all of which have hitherto
failed.
In personal appearance, the Tchernemorsky Cossack is far
superior to his brother of the Don; and, though not so hand-
some as his neighbour the Circassian, on the other side of the
Kouban, yet, as he is constantly imitating the expedition of
the Romans against the Sabines, intermarriage with the beau-
tiful girls of Circassia has considerably improved the present
generation. With respect to his moral character, we cannot say
much in his favour, if we are to believe what the Russians, the
Circassians, and the foreign colonists settled on his frontier
say of him, who assert he is a thief by nature, a fellow that
plunders friend and foe when he is on the march, never pays
a debt if he can avoid it ; and, above all, is unequalled as a
horse-stealer, and in the art with which he changes the colour,
appearance, may, the very nature of a horse in a day or two,
292 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
so completely that his former owner could not recognise him.
At all events, it is most certain that no poet in the present
day can celebrate the honesty of either of these borderers,
Cossack or Circassian, engaged as they are eternally in petty
warfare, and depending for the most part upon plunder for
their subsistence. - *
Still, if a Circassian has to complain of the predatory
habits of his neighbour, on the whole he is the gainer; for the
Tchernemorsky, on his migration from the Dneiper, brought
with him the domestic habits, comfort, cleanliness, and some-
thing of the social order of a European, together with an
improved system of warfare, all of which he has taught the
wild Circassian, and made him a formidable foe for Russia, to
subjugate. On the other hand, the Cossack, exposed as he is
to the influence of an unhealthy climate, and the unceasing
hostility of his restless neighbour, has much decreased in
numbers since he first settled on the Kouban. At all events,
we may be assured that no Emperor of Russia in the present
day can threaten England as the Emperor Paul did, with
marching a hundred thousand Cossacks from the Don and
the Black Sea to overturn her power in India.
In fact, the acquisition of territory in this part of Asia,
instead of giving an accession of strength to Russia, has
added to her weakness. There is a long line of frontier to
defend against the continual incursions of the Circassians;
then the country itself yields but little profit, since from
beyond Ekaterinodar (Catherine's gift), the capital of the
Tchernemorsky Cossacks, it is for the most part composed
of steppe land and swamps. It is true, through the in-
dustry of the Cossacks and the colonists, some districts have
been brought into cultivation, particularly on the banks
of rivers, and we occasionally ſind excellent pasture land
and meadows; but the climate in general is not considered
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 293
healthy, add to which there is a great deficiency of pure
water. Again, the pestilential air arising from the marshy
districts on the Circassian frontier of the Kouban consti-
tutes alone a formidable barrier to the advance of a Russian
army in this direction; for should the natives defend the
passes with vigour, and prevent their entrance into the
fortress of Anapa, they would be obliged either to bivouac in
the Swamps, or recross the Kouban, frequently impracticable,
as this river is sometimes unexpectedly increased to a torrent
by the rain in the higher Alps in a few hours. Should any
misfortune of this kind occur, and it has happened more than
once—the entire army would then be at the mercy of two
inexorable foes—marsh miasma, and the unceasing hostility of
the guerilla of the Caucasus.
The Kouban, like every other river that has its source in
an alpine region, and at the same time but a short course
from that region to the Sea, is subject to great variations—now
shallow and sluggish, and again, when fed by heavy rains and
the melting of the Snow in the mountains, rolling like a raging
torrent, and flooding its banks to a vast extent, particularly
on the Circassian side, where there is nothing to be seen for
many miles but a forest of reeds, which, beneath the burning
Sun of Asia, attain a most extraordinary height.
As far as the eye could reach, we traced from the deck of .
Our vessel the chain of Cossack guard-houses, as we passed
along the mouth of the Kouban, each with its own redoubt
and primitive watch-tower, consisting of three perpendicular
poles fastened in the earth, having a seat on the top exactly
resembling an eagle's nest, upon which a sentinel was seated,
watching the movements of his wary enemy, the Circassians,
on the other side of the Kouban, but who, notwithstanding
all his vigilance, frequently cross the river at low water;"and,
unless every man is instantly under arms, their villages are
burnt, and everything, even to the cattle in the fields, carried
294 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
off with the despatch always exhibited on such occasions by
that most accomplished of marauders, a Circassian guerilla.
It is much to be lamented that a government so energetic,
so full of enterprise as the Russian, will not resign its ambi-
tious projects, and transfer its attention to civilising its people
and improving the vast and fertile countries which have been
wrested from the grasp of those indolent rulers, the Turk,
the Tatar, and the Persian. Prince Worronzow, one of the
most enlightened men to be found in any country, assured
me that nearly the whole of the immense steppe, known as
Western-Tatary, might be rendered some of the most fertile
lands in any country, if a judicious system of draining the
marshes were adopted, and artesian wells sunk to afford a
sufficient supply of water to the colonists for the purpose of
irrigation, Trees might also be planted, and in process of
time serve to attract rain and thunder-storms, and thus be
the means of entirely changing the character of the climate;
—for, as we before observed, the soil is generally of a dark
loamy nature, and wherever the ground has been excavated,
the roots of gigantic trees have been discovered, which shows
how different must have been the aspect of these steppes in
former times. It is scarcely necessary to add, that all this
and much more might be effected by a judicious outlay of the
vast sums now so lavishly Squandered among her foreign
agents and spies, and in her immense armaments; as well as
by employing in this, and similar works of public utility, the
thousands whose lives are yearly sacrificed in the vain attempt
to subdue the Caucasus. Most assuredly it would be a bless-
ing, not only to the Russian people themselves, but to the
inhabitants of every other country, if this government, so reck-
less of the lives of its subjects—so headlong in pursuit of its
ambitious projects—were to receive such a check as would
prevent it from again disturbing the peace of the world.
C - R. C. As S 1 A. N. L. A. D Y -

BAY OF SOUDJOUK-KAI.E.
CHAPTER XXI.
First View of Circassia—Anapa–Splendid Scenery–Description of Soudjouk-
Kalº–Expedition of General Willemineff in Circassia–His reverses—Defeat and
Death—Arrival at Ghelendjik–Its fine Harbour—Advantages to Russia as a
military station.
AFTER passing the mouth of the Kouban, the lesser chain
of the Caucasian mountains, called by the Russians Tcherne-
gori (Black Mountain), rose up before us in all their varied
and picturesque beauty; for we were now skirting the coast
of Circassia; and a more brilliant pageant than they now
exhibited, with the glorious sun of Asia lighting up every
separate pinnacle, cannot be conceived. Still it was not the
mountains, beautiful as they appeared, and clothed to their

296 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
summit with the foliage of the forest, which interested the
spectator so much, as the recollection that he beholds for the
first time Circassia, that romantic home of the brave and
the free Even our travelling companions, particularly the
ladies, much as they, no doubt, had cause to lament the loss
of some beloved relative in the Caucasian war, could not
refrain from exclaiming almost simultaneously, and with
evident delight, Tcherkess! Tcherkess! (Circassia.)
We cast anchor at Anapa, the first port in Circassia.
According to the accounts of the Russians, the fortress of
Anapa was built by the Turks in 1784. The fort stands on
a spur of the Kitzil-Kaya mountains, which here abruptly
sink into a dead plain towards the sea-coast, where it is sur-
rounded by a fortification. To the south and south-west, the
town is overhung by an encircling chain of almost perpendi-
cular hills, rising to a height of about two hundred feet,
forming a complete defence against the attacks of the moun-
taineers, who possess no other weapon for attacking a fortified
position more formidable than the musket. However, as
they still hold possession of the whole of the surrounding
mountain district, the garrison and the inhabitants are com-
pletely hemmed in, except towards the sea and the north,
in which direction, the country being flat and marshy, they
are enabled in fine weather, and when the waters of the
Rouban are low, to maintain a communication with the
Tchernemorsky Cossacks.
Anapa as a port is not considered secure; the anchorage is
bad, and being shallow, it is only capable of receiving small
vessels, which run the risk of being driven out to sea when
the wind blows with violence. It is defended by a mole with
bastions, but the place altogether appeared neglected, and in
no respect calculated to resist an attack by Sea; with the
additional disadvantage of an entire want of good water,
which obliges the garrison to seek it at Some little distance in
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 297
the mountains,—a somewhat dangerous undertaking, owing
to the hostility of the Circassians, unless they are accompanied
by a few pieces of cannon.
Anapa and the surrounding country formerly belonged to
a warlike tribe of Circassians, called the Skegaki, whose last
prince, Mehmet Gherei Aslane, was said to be at one time
extremely wealthy, and carried on a considerable trade with
the Turks and the Tatars of the Crimea; but about this time
Catherine of Russia having peopled Kouban-Tatary, as we
before observed, with tribes of the Cossacks of the Don,
between them and the Skegaki a sanguinary predatory war
Soon commenced, which ended with the total ruin of the
-latter, and the extinction of every member of the prince's
family. It was from this prince that the Turks obtained
permission to establish themselves at Anapa, for the twofold
purpose of watching the movements of the Russians, who had
taken possession of Kouban-Tatary, and as a station for com-
mercial purposes. Anapa had now the misfortune to become
involved in all the wars that ensued between the Turks and the
Russians. In 1790, General Bibikow was the first to cross the
Kouban, when, at the head of 10,000 men, he laid the whole
country waste to the gates of Anapa. In the following year
General Goudivich, after a siege of six weeks, took the town by
assault, to be again driven out by the Turks and Circassians.
It was again captured in 1807, by Admiral Patoshkin and Gene-
ral Govorow, who, after pillaging the town, and destroying the
fortress, took their departure. It was finally taken in 1828,
by Admiral Greig and General Prince Menschikow, but only
after a murderous siege of three months by land and sea,
from which time it remained in possession of Russia.
That the acquisition of Anapa opened a wide field of
enterprise to Russia—a tempting opportunity of bringing
under her sceptre the warlike tribes of the Cancasus, and
298 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
thereby extending her conquests into Asia, there can be no
doubt; still, with all her might and power—all her intrigues
and cunning—she is now, in the year 1854, as far from the
goal of her wishes as when she commenced the contest. Nor
can we wonder at the failure of her efforts to subdue a
country the most difficult of all others for an army to subsist
in, and the easiest to be defended; having at the same time
to contend against the descendants of the people who placed
a barrier against the advance of Alexander the Great, re-
pulsed and dispersed the valiant legions of immortal Rome,
the well-trained bands of the hero Mithridates, and, in after
days, defeated every attempt of the Persians and the Turks,
in their best days, to subdue them. What might not the -
energy of an army composed of such men achieve, were they
instructed in European tactics?—men whom the Russians
themselves acknowledge to be the finest of all cavalry soldiers,
and most fearless of guerillas, whom no defeat can dis-
hearten, and no bribe tempt to betray their country's
independence.
May we not hope that since Europe has at length awoke to
the magnitude of the ambitious designs of Russia, she will
not remain any longer a passive spectator of a struggle in
which her own interests are so deeply involved 1 May we
not hope that the beautiful valleys and mountains of the
Caucasus, when peace is restored to a long-suffering people,
will become the Switzerland of Asia, the resort of those
tourists who require scenes more novel than any that
Western Europe has to offer?
The magnificent scenery on the Circassian coast increased
in beauty as we glided over the bosom of the mighty
Euxine, so calm as rather to resemble a lake than a Sea.
Soudjouk-Kalé, the next port we came to, so well known as
being the destination of the Vizen, and the scene of her
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, 299
k
capture by the Russians, lies about thirty miles south-east
of Anapa; and whether we regard it as a commercial or
military position, there is none except Ghelendjik better
situated on the Circassian coast. The Turks, those fatal
friends to the Circassians, also had a commercial station here,
for which permission had been granted to them by the prince
of the country, Gherai Koehmit; and, under the pretence that
the Sultan was the sovereign, the Russians, commanded by
General Goudovitch, attacked it in 1809 without success; but
they were more fortunate in 1811, when it was taken by the
Duc de Richelieu, who held possession till the treaty of
Bucharest, when it was restored to the Turks. The Circas-
sians, however, wearied with the total want of martial
spirit exhibited in these days by the Turks in their various
encounters with the Russians, would not again permit them
to hold Soudjouk-Kalé, hoping by this means they should
escape being any further involved in the quarrel between the
Turks and Russians; and with this intention, they destroyed
the fort and Turkish settlements.
From this time till 1836, Soudjouk-Kalé remained in the
peaceable possession of the Circassians, when General Wille-
mineff, at the head of fifteen thousand men, effected a landing
a few weeks previous to the arrival of Prince Worronzow and
his party. It was the intention of the general to erect forti-
cations; but before he had time to do this, or even to build
log-houses for his men, or lay in a stock of winter provisions,
the autumnal rains set in earlier than usual, accompanied by
such violent storms as entirely scattered the fleet under
Admiral Pallinotti, to which he had looked for support; and,
to add to his disasters, the Zemes that flows into the bay of
Soudjouk-Kalé—a mere rivulet in summer—suddenly swelled
to such an extent as completely to swamp his entrenchments,
at the same time destroying great part of his provisions and
300 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
powder. Unable to contend with so many evils, he deter-
mined to evacuate his quarters, and fight his way to Amapa,
having no other alternative than this, or beholding his men
perish with hunger and disease.
After gallantly contesting his passage through every ob-
stacle—a succession of deep glens and formidable defiles,
where every tree and jutting crag formed a fortress for the
Circassian guerilla—he was met within a few miles of
Anapa by the united tribes of the Circassians, the Kapsouki,
Demirgoi, and Nottakhaitzi, when a dreadful conflict took
place ; and had it not been for the timely arrival of a few
Squadrons of Tchernemorsky Cossacks, together with the
Soldiers of the garrison of Anapa, to his assistance, the entire
army would probably have been cut off, the unhappy soldiers
being completely worn out by hunger and fatigue. Even as
it was, out of the gallant army that only a few months
previously numbered fifteen thousand men, scarcely one-half
escaped the devouring sword of the mountaineer, and the not
less fatal fevers that ever follow in the wake of a Russian
army in the Caucasus. He however succeeded, during his
short campaign on the coast of Circassia, in erecting two
forts that guard the passes leading from Soudjouk-Kalé to
Anapa on one side, and Ghelendjik on the other; but, like
his predecessors, he altogether failed in subduing the moun-
taineers, till at length, wearied with repeated reverses, and
Seeing his finest troops year after year cut to pieces, he
retired, and soon after died. Peace to his memory! he was
a brave soldier and an excellent man. We can personally
bear testimony to his merits, having known him well, and
how much he was beloved by his soldiers, and respected by
his numerous friends. . -
We have already stated that Soudjouk-Kalé lies thirty
miles South-east of Anapa; we found however, on a subsequent
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 301
visit to Circassia, that the distance by land does not exceed
twenty-five miles, as we avoid the extensive curve neces-
sarily made while coasting; we had thus an opportunity of
Seeing this splendid bay to great advantage from the sur-
rounding heights. It appeared to be about eight English miles
in circumference, and from the great depth of water, excellent
anchorage, and security from violent winds, is well adapted
to become one of the best harbours on the Circassian coast.
It is completely land-locked, except at one point, from about
S. E. to S. by E., which might here be easily rendered secure by
a mole.
To the east of the bay, a range of bleak hills, furrowed by
innumerable water-courses, gradually descends from a height
of about a thousand feet down to a long line of rocky shore.
To the west, the hills are of somewhat less elevation, and in
great part covered with wood; these also diminish in height
as they extend towards the sea-shore. In short, so com-
pletely is this fine harbour protected on every side, except
on that point to which we alluded, that when viewed in a
north-westerly direction, it has more the appearance of a lake
than a bay. From the early records of the Genoese and
the Venetians, we learn that this port was one of great anti-
quity; the Genoese had a commercial station here, under the
name of Porto Suaco, and some writers even pretend that it
was the Sindikae of the ancients.
The Circassian coast, after leaving Soudjouk-Kalé, became
highly picturesque; still it was not until we had doubled
Cape Taouba, that we enjoyed in perfection the Superb pro-
spect of this Eden-like country, which we are inclined to think,
for beautiful coast scenery, is without a parallel, exhibiting as
it does all the combinations which unadorned nature can
present in its loveliest forms. The mountains were covered
with verdure from the water's edge to the highest peak, and
302 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
whether the eye wandered along the shore, up the bosomy
hills, or through the fertile valleys, numerous flocks of snow-
white sheep were seen quietly grazing, with herds of buffaloes,
superb oxen, and jet-black goats, with their long slender
limbs. Nor must we forget the beautiful half-wild horses,
proudly curving their arched necks, and tossing their flowing
manes to the breeze, while bounding like deer through the
verdant valleys, and along the steep sides of the hills. There
were also the little wooden huts of the Circassians, with their.
smoking chimneys, and farm-yards, surrounded by groves of
fruit-trees; shepherds armed with a lance, tending their flocks
and herds; agricultural fields, as far as the eye could reach,
filled with men, women, and children, cutting down the
waving corn, and camels and buffaloes loaded with the pro-
duce, winding their homeward way through the deep and
distant valley. It was in truth a lovely picture, an ever-
changing panorama, which blended the most Sublime and
picturesque scenery with the romance of rural life, and
realized all that the imagination of a poet could conceive of
an Arcadia.
The next port at which we came to anchor was Ghelendjik,
distant about sixteen English miles from Soudjouk-Kalé.
The Russians consider it the Safest and most commodious
harbour on the coast of Circassia. The bay, which may be
at its entrance half-a-mile in breadth, gradually widens to a
mile and a half, and penetrates inland about two miles,
where it receives the Mezip, flowing through a beautiful val-
ley, the whole encircled by a connecting chain of high lands,
which protect it from every wind, except when the north-
east descends from the mountains. It has also the advantage
of good anchorage, and a depth of water varying from four-
teen fathoms to four near the mouth of the river, where it is
shallow, owing to the accumulation of Sand.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 303
-
INTERVIEW BETWEEN RUSSIANS AND CIRCASSIANs.
CHAPTER XXII.
How Russia obtained possession of Ghelendjik–Fort—Eccursion into the Interior—
How Russian Military Roads are made in Circassia—Bay of Pohad—Hostility of
the Circassians—Circassian War-cry—Splendid Coast Scenery—Bay of Djook–
Bay of Wadran—Arrival at Pitzounda–Eccursion into the Interior—Interesting
Church—Bombora—Visit to a Circassian Town–Circassian Forests—Weapons
of the Crusaders.
As a military position, the situation of Ghelendjik is pecu-
liarly advantageous, communicating as it does on one side
with Soudjouk-Kalé, and on the other with the bay of Pohad
by valleys easy of access; while another in front, by following
the course of the Mezip, leads direct into the interior of the
Caucasus. So desirable a locality could not fail to attract the
attention of the Russian government; and soon after the

304 - * TURKEY, RUSSIA,
treaty of Adrianople, without even asking permission of the
Circassians, a large army was sent to take possession, under
the pretence that it had belonged to the Turks, who had
ceded it to them. 3.
In those days the diplomatists of the West did not trouble
themselves much whether that wild country, called the Cau-
casus, belonged to Turk or Rouss, or perhaps their united
wisdom could not fathom the meaning attached by the clever
court of St. Petersburgh to the words, “plusieurs autres
provinces du Caucase!” For the honour of the late Sultan,
we will charitably believe that he did not, or he never could
have given up a country to which he knew he had not a
shadow of right, with its millions of Mahometans, to be
ruled by a Christian sovereign, however disastrous his own
position might have been at the time. Be this as it may, the
Russians were allowed to take Ghelendjik; and it has ever
been a maxim with this people, if they are permitted to take
an inch, to continue the system of appropriation ad infinitum.
At all events, from that time up to the present, they have
never ceased their aggressions upon the independence of the
Circassians.
The fort of Ghelendjik, as we now saw it, merely consisted
of mud entrenchments and a strong palisado work, mounted
with heavy guns, and manned by a garrison of two thousand
men, whose cabins, built of wood, lay securely in the centre.
To judge from the healthy, vigorous appearance of the men,
the climate is here far more Salubrious than at any of the
other Russian forts we had visited on the Circassian coast, or
it may be, that having a wider circuit round the extensive
bay to take a promenade, that has had some beneficial
influence. We made a few excursions into the interior with
Prince Worronzow, for the purpose of inspecting a road then
making, intended to connect a Series of forts on the Circassian
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 305
coast which the Russian government contemplated building.
If this were done, this enterprising power would obtain the
entire command of the coast from Anapa to Fort St. Nicholas
on the Turkish frontier—a gigantic enterprise, but a perilous
one, when we remember the hostility of so active an enemy
as the guerilla of the Caucasus, of whom the military here
seemed to entertain no inconsiderable dread, as we were
accompanied, during our short tour in the neighbouring
valleys, by more than half the garrison, and all the howitzers
they could muster ready for action. The greatest danger,
however, to be apprehended on such occasions, is a flight of
arrows from some lurking foe, which kill without telling the
exact place whence the death-blow came.
On arriving at our place of destination, we witnessed a
Scene rarely beheld in any other country, or under any other
government than that of Russia. While one party of Soldiers,
having in front several howitzers mounted on the backs of
horses, and with lighted matches, stood on their defence
against any sudden attack of the mountaineers, another with
pickaxe, Spade, and shovel, were busy at work constructing
the road, exposed to the rays of the burning sun, their
haggard, weather-beaten countenances telling how severe had
been their toil and suffering—and it was evident, by their
bandaged heads and limbs, that several had been recently
wounded. Such is Russia! When an ukase is promulgated
for the accomplishment of some specific object, it must be
completed, even at the cost of half the population. In the
present instance, to add to their troubles, that portion which
had been made with so much toil, difficulty and danger,
during the day, was frequently destroyed by the mountaineers
in the course of the night, by rolling down upon it immense
fragments of rock. We must not, however, imagine that all
this enterprising activity of the Russian government is con-
X.
306. TURKEY, RUSSIA,
fined to the Circassian coast of the Black Sea and the Crimea
—no such thing. We shall find the same indefatigable
energy displayed in Siberia and Kamschatka, as well as on
the Neva and the shores of the Baltic, in short everywhere
on the frontier; for Russia is one of those Sagacious, far-seeing
powers, that never advances without a secure retreat to fall
back upon in the event of defeat.
About fifteen miles further, after leaving Ghelendjik, we
came to another of those mumerous bays and creeks on the
Circassian coast; this was PChad, a place that had hitherto
defied every attempt of the Russians to take it. For this it
has been principally indebted to a ridge of rocks that ex-
tends for some miles into the sea, which render it extremely
perilous for any vessel to attempt to enter the bay, without a
Circassian pilot on board. The inhabitants also, on this part
of the coast of Circassia, are very numerous, and bear the
character of being some of the most warlike and determined
enemies of Russia among all the tribes of the Caucasus. We
Soon had an example of the celerity and well-Organized
system with which this people assemble when they apprehend
invasions; for, seeing a steam-boat and several armed vessels
approach the shore, as if by magic, the entrance of the bay
and the whole of the surrounding heights were instantly
filled with armed men, while others in the far distance were
seen galloping with all their might towards the shore. It
was assuredly a most exciting scene to behold these brave
peasants, armed with every species of weapon—bows, arrows,
javelins, muskets, Sabres, make the hills around reecho their
frightful war-cry, eager for the fray.
This war-whoop of the Circassian warriors is indeed
terrific, somewhat resembling the howl of a pack of jackals;
So startling and unearthly, that it is said to have caused
insanity in some persons who heard it for the first time.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 307
We can easily imagine the panic it might spread among an
army composed of the ignorant and superstitious peasants of
Russia, surprised in some lonely glen or defile of the Cauca-
sus by a band of these infuriated mountaineers, all yelling
their war-cry, as they are accustomed to do when they
commence an attack. The population of this part of the
Circassian coast, whom the Russians designate by the name
of the Abhazi tribes of Circassians, must be very numerous
and exceedingly industrious, if we might form an opinion
from the aspect of the lovely and well-cultivated country
we now beheld, and which called forth exclamations of
surprise and wonder from all our party, who could scarcely
believe that such evidences of civilization were to be found
among the savages of the Caucasus. But, happily for them,
they were far removed from the inroads of the Tchernemorsky
Cossacks, and the Russians had not yet obtained a footing
on this part of their coast. Whether the eye wandered up
the lofty sides of the mountains, which here frequently rise
to a height of five thousand feet, or along the shelving sides
of the deep valleys, there were pretty park-like fields, ver-
dant pastures and meadows, enclosed with palings, all exhi-
biting the hand of a skilful husbandman; and if to these we
add the numerous flocks and herds, the magnificent outline.
of the splendid forests that crowned every height, and here
and there feathered down to the deep valley, the reader can
form some idea of the scenery of this part of the Circassian
coast. The cottages also, with their neat verandahs, farm-
yards, orchards and gardens, indicated that their owners were
amply provided with all the necessaries of life.
The inhabitants, however, showed evident mistrust at our
appearance; for they continued to watch our movements, and
raise the whole population of the country against us till we
came to Djook, distant about twenty miles from PChad.
308 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
This little bay is not considered a good harbour, but
the neighbouring country is singularly beautiful and well-
cultivated.
The appearance of our little fleet, particularly the steam-
boat, was received here with the same hostile demonstrations
which we had before observed. In fact, the people seemed
fully inclined to give us a warm reception, should we attempt
to land, for we could plainly see that the woods were crowded
with armed men.
During the night we passed Mamai, Ardtler, and several
other little bays and creeks mentioned in the Russian map of
the Circassian coast, but none of them of sufficient impor-
tance to be considered a harbour for large vessels; and in the
morning, at break of day, cast anchor in the Bay of Wadran.
We must not, however, neglect to mention another instance
of the watchful precautions of these indefatigable moun-
taineers; every pinnacle of the mountains, as we sailed along,
was lighted up with enormous fires—no doubt, for the pur-
pose of apprising the inhabitants of the coast of the approach
of danger. I
The Bay of Wadran is of little value as a harbour, except
during a few months in summer; for here the mountains
commence rising to a very considerable elevation up to the
alpine regions of Elberous, which renders this part of the
Black Sea, when the wind blows from that quarter, extremely
dangerous to the mariner. *
To an aggressive power like Russia, the Bay of Wadran offers
Some political advantages, since it is situated at the mouth of
one of the strongest defiles in the Caucasus, the famous
Yagra, the scene of many a desperate battle between the
Russians and the guerillas of Schamyl Bey. This defile has
also the advantage of communicating with most of the other
defiles and valleys that lead into the interior of the Caucasus.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 309
The Russians, since they obtained possession of this place,
have not penetrated beyond the ruins of a church and monas
tery, the latter of which they have converted into barracks,
and fortified. Perhaps no other of the Russian settlements
on the coast bf Circassia has proved so destructive to her
troops as this, resulting not so much from the hostility of the
natives, as the insalubrity of the climate; indeed, so great is
the mortality that the Russian officers stationed here informed
me, that the garrison must be changed or increased every
six months.
From Vadran to Pitzounda was the longest voyage we had
yet made without stopping, being little short of eighty miles.
The character of the scenery on the coast we had hitherto so
much admired for its luxuriant fertility, now became almost
alpine ; Snow was even to be seen here and there in the clefts
of the rocks, although it was now June, and every valley, glen,
and defile, seemed to be covered with dense forests of most
gigantic trees, adding still more to the savage wildness of the
landscape.
At length we cast anchor at Pitzounda, the ancient Pythus,
now a dreary Solitude, without even the meanest hut or
trace of man's existence. Yet this fine bay, sheltered as it is
from the land winds, which here frequently blow with the
utmost violence, by a range of high mountains, and from the
sea breezes by an arched promontory, seemed to combine all
that is desirable in a harbour. How melancholy and how
effectual must have been the ravages of the predatory hordes
of Asia that so long rioted here, as to have entirely destroyed
every vestige of the fine commercial city that was once
reared here by the enterprise and energy of the anceint
Greeks, and which was known to be in a flourishing state
during the rule of the Romans, and in that of their succes-
Born, tho Byzantino Grooks!
310 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
We made an excursion of a few miles inland, to visit one
of the most interesting churches in the Caucasus. Our route
lay through a forest of splendid trees, among which the oak,
the beech, the chestnut, and the pine, might be pronounced
the finest of their species: there was also the cherry, olive,
fig, pomegranate, Orange, in short, all the rarest fruit-trees,
with the vine of almost fabulous dimensions twining around
their huge trunks, appearing as if the country had never
at any epoch been brought into cultivation.
On arriving at our destimation, we found the ruins of a
monastery had been converted by the Russians into a fort,
and garrisoned by about four or five hundred soldiers. It
was, in truth, a heart-rending spectacle, to see so many of
these poor fellows, wandering about through the leafy bowers
of the fig and the vine, looking as if they had just risen from
the grave ; so fatal is the pestilential malaria of the Cau-
casus, always most poisonous where the vegetation is most
luxuriant, and which must continue to be so, until the inha-
bitants are sufficiently numerous to cultivate the soil.
The Turks, that rapacious horde of Savages, what a debt
do they not owe to civilization . After destroying, some four
or five centuries ago, every vestige of the ancient Pythus, they
spared one single church, which now remains standing alone
in a wilderness, an interesting monument of Byzantine archi-
tecture in its earliest days.” -
It is in very good preservation, constructed partly of brick
and partly of freestone, and in the form of a Greek cross; its
noble dome, supported by four immense columns, has a fine
* The popular tradition tells that it was indebted for its preservation to the fol-
lowing circumstance –The Turkish Sultan who commanded at the siege of
Pythus having been severely wounded, was carried in an appareutly dying state to
the monastery, when one of the monks engaged to effect his cure, provided he
would promise to spare their church; he kept his word, and from that time the
building had been respected by the Mahometans for the sake of their Sultan.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 3.11
appearance, and the round painted windows give us a fair
idea of Grecian art in those days. In the vestibule and the
side chapels may still be traced paintings in fresco, repre-
Senting Saints and angels, the crucifixion, the descent from the
cross, with the Virgin and the other women weeping at the
feet of the Saviour. It is presumed to have been built by
Justinian ; still there is no date nor record to indicate the
period of its construction; the style is, however, that of the
Byzantine Greeks. -
On leaving Pitzounda for the next military station, Bom-
bora, we were overtaken by one of those sudden storms, very
frequent in this part of the Black Sea, and which now
descended upon us from the alpine regions of the stupendous
Elbrous with all the violence of a hurricane. Happily, by
standing out at Sea, we were prepared to meet its utmost
fury; but the vessels composing our little fleet were scattered
in every direction; however, as the Prince had given orders
for a general rendezvous at Soukom-Kalé, we rejoined them
in a few days without any serious accident.
In the meantime the steamer, with the Prince and the
greater number of our party, proceeded to Bombora, when,
happening to arrive on our voyage at the position where the
great range of the Caucasian Alps in all their splendour are
seen from the sea, we were occasionally favoured, as the wind
dispelled the clouds, with a magnificent view of that stupen-
dous alpine region, with Elbrous standing high above all,
like a vast pyramid of Snow, enveloped in clouds so dark that
from the contrast they appeared of a jet black.
On arriving at Bombora, our English engineer discovered
that the machinery had become slightly deranged. To this
circumstance we were indebted for a delightful excursion into
the interior of Circassia; and as the chieftain of the district,
312 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Prince Scharavaschedzé, had given in his adhesion to the
Russian government, there was nothing to apprehend from
the hostility of the inhabitants. After visiting the ruins of a
church and a monastery on the coast, which we may regard
as an evidence that this people were once converted to
Christianity, we followed the windings of a beautiful river,
the Phandra, which led us to the fortress, distant about three
miles. Like that at Pitzounda, the vegetation was of the most
luxuriant description; the splendid oak-trees alone, that
covered the sides of the hills, and crested the highest summits
of the mountains, were in such abundance, as to lead us to
believe that Europe would find a sufficient supply of the
finest wood for ship-building in these nearly unknown coun-
tries on the Black Sea, without seeking it in another hemi-
sphere. Mingrelia, Immeretia, Gourial, and the Turkish
provinces of Asia Minor, are equally rich in this material as
Circassia. In addition to the ordinary trees of the forest, the
arbutus andrachne, the oleander, the tamarisk, the olive, and
the fig, the rhododendron and the pomegranate, were every-
where to be seen in all their variegated tints and rich luxuri-
ance; while the box, which in Europe is a dwarf shrub, was
here a perfect giant of the forest, and the juniper of such
colossal dimensions as to measure fifteen feet in circum-
ference. But death lurked about our path, in the number of
dangerous black snakes that continually darted almost from
beneath our feet; then the croaking of the rana variabilis,
that unerring indicator of poisonous marsh miasma, told us,
if we did not seek the shelter of our ships before night-fall,
we should be certain to carry home with us the intermittent
fever of the Caucasus. -
The fact is, the fertility of the low lands in the Caucasus is
too great; for, harassed as the inhabitants have been from
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 313
time immemorial by the continued invasions of every ambi-
tious power of the day, they have been obliged to leave their
richest lands a waste on the coast, and seek a securer home
in the mountains. They also know, from experience and the
traditions of their ancestors, that if their enemies only resided
a few months in one of their beautiful valleys on the coast,
the poisonous marsh miasma would thin their ranks far more
rapidly than the sword. It will scarcely be credited when
we say, that the Caucasus alone costs Russia annually 30,000
men
After visiting the fortress, which as usual was crowded
with the sick and dying, we took a lounge through the little
town of Bombora, or, as the Circassians call it, Lehna, exhi-
biting the same characteristics as those we had described in
Turkey. The inhabitants were, for the most part, Tatars
and Karaite Jews from the Crimea, Armenians, and Turks.
As to Circassians, there were but few ; this warlike race
always preferring the more exciting life of the chase and war
to the peaceable one of the counter. There were several ar-
mourers in the town, from whom our party purchased some
splendid sabres and poniards of the very finest workmanship,
and evidently of great antiquity; the blades were for the
most part engraved, or inlaid with gold characters. Prince
Worronzow procured a splendid sabre with the following
interesting inscription, Parmi Dey y par my Rey; which evi-
dently once belonged to a crusader. Indeed, we were informed
by an Armenian merchant of the place, who frequently visited
the interior of the Caucasus, that there actually exists a tribe
called the Khervisour, living in a district at the base of
Mount Elbrous, who still preserve some of the forms of
Christianity; and when they go to war, use a different armour
from that of the Circassian knights, with the figure of a cross
On their bucklers, and one of red cloth on their breast. How
314 , TURKEY, RUSSIA,
interesting would it be to Europeans, when this interesting
country shall be laid open to the research of our intelligent
travellers of the West, to find a colony of their own race
settled in the wildest districts of the Caucasus ! It must,
however, be understood that we only make the statement on
the testimony we have above mentioned,—still it is far from
improbable. V
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 315
ºilº -ºil
§ 3
|--
INTERIOR OF A circassian CHIEFTAIN’s Dwr, LLING.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Pisit to the Prince of Bombora—Sketch of a Circassian warrior—Dwelling of a
Circassian chieftain—Patriotism of the chieftains of Circassia–Circassian
women—Their personal appearance—Laws against immorality in Circassia—
Dress of the women—Arrival at Soukoum-Kalé–Miserable state of the garrison
—Character of a Russian soldier—His wars in the Caucasus.
PRINCE WoRRoNzow, who evidently expected to have seen
the chieftain of Bombora, appeared somewhat annoyed.
However, after some time a deputation, consisting of the
elders and petty chiefs of the tribe, came with many excuses to
say that their lord unfortunately had been absent from home
for several days, but that his lady would be most happy to
fulfil the duties of hospitality in his stead, if his Excellency
and his party would honour her with a visit; and as the resi-
dence of the chieftain was only a few miles distance, prepa-

316 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
rations were made for our departure. Probably dreading
a “guet-d'apens,” there were few that accepted the invitation.
Prince Worronzow, however, knowing well the character of
the people, and how little danger there was to be apprehended
when full confidence was placed in their truth, did not hesi-
tate an instant.
As may be supposed, we were objects of great curiosity to
the natives; and by the time we reached the residence of
the chieftain, our escort had increased to hundreds. Truly
our first acquaintance with the far-famed warriors of the
Caucasus fully realized our anticipations; for a more martial-
looking, well-grown, dashing set of fellows, it would be im-
possible to find anywhere, with features at once regular and
expressive—firm, well-knit and athletic, yet possessed of all
the agility of the Arab of the desert, and displaying in
their haughty bearing, eagle glance, and unconstrained ges-
ture, all the pride of conscious freedom. Their erect and
symmetrical forms were, at the same time, set off to the
greatest advantage by their becoming and picturesque cos-
tume, a close-fitting tunic, resembling a military polonaise,
with the red Morocco patron pockets in front, which are at
once ornamental and useful, as they constitute no inefficient
safeguard to the breast of the wearer against the random
shot or lance thrust. The head-dress consists, for the most
part, of a round cap of black Astrakan lambskin, with the
crown of crimson cloth or leather, while the red silk sash, or
the ornamented leather girdle, is ever filled with a well-
selected armoury ready for any emergency.
After travelling for about two English miles through the
romantic valley of the Phandra, we entered a gloomy defile,
or rather a cleft in the rocks, scarcely affording space for two
horsemen abreast; and following in our ascent a torrent-like
rivulet, we soon emerged upon a beautiful and extensive
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 317
plateau, where we found the residence of the chieftain,
consisting of a cluster of little cabins, each with its meat
Verandah, Surrounded by Orchards, meadows and corn-fields,
presenting altogether a picture rather of the peaceful abode
of a comfortable farmer, than that of the chieftain of five
thousand warriors, which it is said the prince of this district
can any day summon into the field. Everything about the
place was of the most simple description; and this is the more
remarkable when we recollect that the chieftain of this power-
ful clan, Michael Scharavaschedzé, was educated in a Russian
military school, rose to the rank of colonel in the Russian
army, was in high favour with the emperor, and well known
in all the fashionable circles at St. Petersburg as the gayest
of the gay. Apparently, however, being suddenly smitten
with the old amour du pays, which appears never to die in
the breast of a true mountaineer, he abandoned all the
fascinations of civilized life, and the seductive prospects of
future honour and distinction, disdaining to barter his native
freedom for the golden fetters of Russian service; and here
he has been residing for the last ten or twelve years, in the
same primitive manner as his countrymen, as if he had never
known the luxuries of civilized life.
The Prince of Bombora is not a solitary-instance of this
love of country in the Circassian. Among several others, we
may mention as the most celebrated, the two Kabardian,
chieftains, Ismael and Bulat Atashuka. Ismael served in the
Russian army with such distinction, that he rose to the rank
of major-general during the reign of the late Emperor Alex-
ander, who, wishing to attach him to his person and interests,
loaded him with favours, even to conferring upon him the
order of St. George; but no temptation could induce the
mountain chieftain permanently to adopt the manners of
civilized life. ,
3.18 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
The case of Bulat was even still more remarkable. He was
carried to St. Petersburg when little more than an infant,
where he was placed at a military school, in which he acquired
the French, Italian, and Russian languages, so that he almost
forgot his own, became an officer of dragoons, and in a short
time a captain; but every allurement failed; he returned to
Circassia, and was one of the first among the chieftains of
Kabardiah that raised the standard of his country's independ-
ence, during the recent visit made to that part of Circassia
by that indefatigable enemy of Russia, Schamyl Bey. An-
other of those chieftains of the Caucasus, Daniel Bey, a name
not unknown to the English reader as the friend and com-
panion-in-arms of Schamyl Bey, was also a general in the
Russian service. The fact is, the Caucasians, one and all,
look upon military service in Russia as a species of slavery,
and never fail to desert when a favourable opportunity pre-
sents itself.
In the present instance, the attempt of Prince Worronzow
to establish a commercial alliance with the Circassians through
the influence of their chieftains, and finally destroy their inde.
pendence, was nothing more than a return to the humane
system which the Duc de Richelieu endeavoured to introduce
into the Caucasus, when he was governor-general of the
Crimea, and which so signally failed at PChad, and some
other places on the Circassian coast. Indeed, if no other
obstacle existed to a friendly feeling between the two people,
the immorality of the Russians would alone be sufficient; and
if the affair of the Helen of PChad led, on a former occasion, to
the destruction of the Russian commercial establishments at
that place, another fair Helen was found at Bombora to pro-
voke another quarrel; and this time it was serious, because
the Circassians not only burnt the warehouses, but massacred
the garrison, and even threatened the life of their chieftain,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 3.19
for having becn the cause of bringing among them such
objectionable friends. -
But to return to the residence of the Prince of Bombora. On
arriving there, we were received by the principal elders and
petty chiefs of the tribe, who conducted us with great cere-
mony into the apartment, or rather a separate cabin, appro-
priated to the reception of strangers. The walls were hung
with every species of weapon, together with chain armour of
the most exquisite workmanship, here and there ornamented
with gold and precious stones. In other respects, the room
differed in nothing from a visiting salon in Turkey. There
was the divan, carpets, and all the other paraphernalia we
have so frequently described. We must not, however, forget
the inimitable mats of Circassia, which covered the room, and
are celebrated throughout the East as a covering alike for the
floor of the palace and the mosque. *
As the Prince declined taking any other refreshment than
a cup of coffee, and smoking a tohibouque, our hosts con-
ducted us through the grounds, and showed us the farm-yard
of the chieftain, his beautiful horses, cattle, &c. In Circassia,
as in all other countries where the majority of the population
are Mahometans, woman, being merely a handmaiden to man,
occupies no place in society, consequently we were not intro-
duced to the wives and family of the Circassian chieftain.
During our promenade through the grounds, we had, how-
ever, an opportunity of Seeing the fair members of his house-
hold as they were engaged in some trifling work of husbandry;
and, like their fair sisters in Europe who have pretty faces,
they evidently thought it no crime to show them; for the
yashmak, that indispensable part of a Mahometan woman's
dress, had been laid aside, whether in expectation of being
admired, or to obtain a better view of the foreign strangers,
we cannot toll, -at all events, the custom of concealing the
320 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
face of the women is not general in Circassia. They were all
enveloped in a species of white garment made from camel or
goat's hair, and this, with the long muslin Veil thrown back,
gave them a most picturesque and becoming appearance.
The beauty of feature and symmetry of form, for which the
Circassian race are so celebrated, have not been exaggerated;
but it is the singular animation in the eye of both sexes that
most arrests the attention of the traveller. This is especially
noticeable in the men, to whose countenances it imparts an
expression of great vivacity, bordering on ferocity; and, as
might be expected, the pure mountain air gives a freshness
to their complexion not to be expected in such a latitude.
That of the women is delicately clear, and as they estimate at
its full value the charms of a pretty person, they leave no
means untried to improve their beauty. +
Still we must not expect that the whole population of
Circassia are distinguished for their personal attractions. The
Caucasian valleys having been in all ages a refuge for the
oppressed, we find a great melange of races, many exhibiting
unmistakeable evidence that they are of Tatar descent.
However, as the Circassians, the real lords of the country,
never intermarry with any other people, they preserve their
lineage pure from any foreign admixture. Besides, they
would lose caste by contracting a marriage with any class of
inferior rank to themselves. Indeed, there are no people who
value themselves more on the pureness of their race or birth
than the chieftains of Circassia, consequently few instances
occur of unequal marriages.
The laws against immorality are extremely severe among
this people. For instance, if a man is detected in carrying
on an illicit intercourse with a woman, he is tried before the
elders of his tribe, who rarely fail to punish him, according
to the circumstances under which the offence had been
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 321
committed, with a heavy fine or perpetual banishment. The
dishonoured wife, after being returned to her parents, is sold
as a slave, and an unmarried woman shares a similar fate.
But, should it happen to be the wife or daughter of a chief-
tain who has disgraced her family, the stain cannot be
washed out except with the blood of the paramour, and, we
believe also, with that of the woman. If we had space, we
might enumerate other laws in force among this interesting
people, for the preservation of morality and the punishment
of vice, all admirably adapted for a people so patriarchal in
their habits, and so remote from the temptations of civilized
life. We must not, then, give credit to the statements of the
hireling writers of Russia, who represent them as a horde of
lawless depredators, without a government or a law to con-
trol them. Even without any arguments of ours, the im-
partial observer of human nature will come to a different
conclusion, because he knows that no community of men
could exist for any length of time, unless the obligations of
social life and order were respected; and they must be faith-
fully observed in Circassia, otherwise the people never could
for so many years have succeeded in defending their country
against the invasion of so formidable a power as Russia.
The state dress of both men and women is a very costly
affair, as it is always bordered with gold or silver embroidery,
the work of the women, who display in its execution no little
taste and skill. The men are not less famous for the ingenuity
they display as armourers; and whether the Superiority arises
from the quality of the metal, or the peculiar excellence of
the method of preparing it, we certainly cannot approach
them in the fine temper they give their weapons; and many
of the designs wrought out on their dresses, together with the
silver and gold arabesque work on their belts and weapons,
might be copied with advantage by our artificers of fibe West.
Y
322 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
With respect to the state dress of the women, blue silk is
the favourite material for the robe, which is generally braided
with gold or silver, and confined at the waist by a girdle
similarly ornamented, fastened with a large silver or gold
clasp; and if to this we add a light shawl of some gay colour,
partly arranged as a turban, and partly falling in graceful
folds over the neck and shoulders, with a thin muslin veil
sufficiently large to envelope the entire figure, we have the
gala costume of one of the daughters of Circassia. The reader
may imagine the effect of such a lovely apparition, attended
like Diana by a favourite dog, in the midst of the charming
scenery of this romantic land. If the fair vision should
chance to attract the admiring glances of a gallant knight in
search of a wife, he can always tell by the colour of her
trousers whether the wearer be maid, wife, or widow ; virgin-
white being worn by the young girls, red by her who has as-
sumed the duties of the matron, and blue by the hapless dame
who mourns the death of her lord. In everything else their
dress is similar, except that the hair of the young dames,
instead of falling on the neck and shoulders like that of the
married women, is arranged in a thick plait behind, confined
at the end by a silver cord.
We often thought, on witnessing the love of finery exhibited
by this people, how great a profit might be reaped by an
English merchant, who should succeed in landing on the
Circassian coast a cargo of bright-coloured woollen, silk, and
cotton stuffs, so superior both in their fabric and pattern to
the rubbish manufactured by Austria and Russia, great
quantities of which finds its way into the Caucasus.
The total absence of domestic comfort in their little cots,
often made of wicker-work, and plastered inside and out with
a species of mineral clay, contrasted singularly with all this
finery, the splendid armour of the men, their noble horses of
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 323
the finest breed, and rich housings, their jewelled weapons,
and the Oriental gold brocade and silvered muslin of the
Women. But in a country like Circassia, never free from
war, these dwellings of prince and peasant—for they are all
alike—can only be considered as a temporary encampment;
the wealth of the inhabitants consisting entirely in the num-
ber of their flocks and herds, and their personal riches, gold,
silver, and jewels. They are always prepared for flight on the
near approach of the enemy ; the huts are set fire to, and, in
a country abounding with inaccessible glens and defiles, to
say nothing of the numberless fertile plateaus found on the
Summit of every mountain, there is no difficulty in finding a
Secure retreat for their women, and their flocks and herds.
This admirable system, which has been at all times the
distinguishing characteristic of a Caucasian guerilla's tactics,
constitutes a great, nay, we may add an insurmountable,
difficulty to any power, however formidable, who attempts to
Subjugate this people.
Highly delighted with our excursion to the mountain home
of the Prince of Bombora, we returned to our ships, and con-
tinued our voyage to the next military station, Soukoum-
Kalé, one of the most interesting places on the Circassian
coast for its historical reminiscences, most antiquarians agree-
ing that it is built upon the site of the famous Dioscurias.
This opinion receives additional confirmation, from the exten-
sive ruins the Russian officers of the garrison discovered
here a few years ago. Soukoum-Kalé, now consisting of a
few wretched huts, inhabited by Greeks and Armenians, was
previous to the treaty of Adrianople, when the Turks held
possession, a flourishing town, containing three thousand
inhabitants. Since that time it has been taken and retaken
, alternately by the Russians and the Circassians, so that between
the belligerents they have scarcely left a stone upon another,
324 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
if we except the massive walls of the fortress; and these bear
evident traces of the severity of the contest, and that the
reduction on the part of Russia had only been effected by
C&IIIlOYi.
Like all the other forts and redoubts we visited on the
Circassian coast, Soukoum-Kalé was bristling with cannon,
not intended to repel an invasion by Sea, but to keep in check
the mountaineers, who hold possession of the whole of the
adjoining country; and so incessant is their hostility, that not
a single soldier can venture beyond the fortifications without
being accompanied with artillery—that dread of a Caucasian
guerilla. Indeed, so daring and indefatigable are the attacks
of these mountaineers, that the officers of the garrison in-
formed us they were obliged to train dogs to act the part of
sentinels in exposed situations; these animals being found to
fulfil their duty very well, as by their loud barking they
immediately give the alarm, should a foe be lurking in the
neighbourhood. If to this we add the unwholesome air of
the locality, bad water, and the usual fever of the Caucasus,
to which we have so frequently alluded, how lamentable is
the fate of the unhappy Russian soldier, whose destiny is the
Caucasus ! He has little to expect but death; few of them ever
return home, and those that are so fortunate as to do so
carry with them an intermittent fever, from which they never
TeCOWer.
It was pitiable to see the appearance of the poor fellows,
when they were drawn up in the court-yard of the fortress to
be reviewed by Prince Worronzow : their emaciated coun-
tenances, bandaged heads, and feeble limbs, showed them to
be far more fit for the hospital than the parade. Perhaps—
and we do not exaggerate—out of three hundred then assem-
bled, not more than fifty could be pronounced healthy, and
certainly not more than half were well able to handle their
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 325
musket. Yet their quarters at Soukoum-Kalé were none of
the worst. The infirmary was airy, and the barracks equally
so; the beds appeared clean, and the men when questioned by
the Prince, declared they had no reason to complain of their
food or their treatment. The provision stores were also
well supplied, the bread excellent of its kind, and the meat
equally so; there was nothing to be desired. We know not,
it is true, whether the men may not have been too sparingly
Served, or that, under the menacing eye of their officers and
Subalterns, we did not hear the whole, truth; at all events,
these latter are accused of enriching themselves at the expense
of the common soldiers, who consequently suffer in their
food, clothing, in short in every respect, by this disgraceful
practice. Be this as it may, the mortality at Soukoum-Kalé
was frightful; for in addition to the intermittent fever, which
prevailed to a great extent, some of the men were afflicted
with the scurvy, a disease generally produced by unwhole-
Some food.
However, if no other cause existed, the toil and labour the
unhappy Soldier is obliged to undergo in the Caucasus, in
making the military road, as we before observed, intended toº
encircle the Circassian coast, would alone be sufficient to
engender disease, exposed as he is to the burning Sun of Asia.
during the day, and to the Sudden change in the temperature
of a mountainous country on the approach of night; to say
nothing of the quantity of ardent spirits a Russian soldier
consumes—a stimulant which the government supplies in
sufficient quantity to support him in his fatigue.
Certainly, if ever a soldier deserved good treatment at the
hands of his rulers, it is the Russian. He is patient under
privations, Submissive to his superiors, a strict disciplinarian,
and no ill-treatment, no danger, can deter him from perform-
ing his duty to his Tzar and his country, a machine that can
326 * * TURKEY, RUSSIA,
be employed for any purpose, and so insensible to fear, that
if a sentinel falls at his feet from the bullet of a Circassian,
another immediately takes his place with the regularity of
clock-work. The same indifference to danger is shown when
he is at work on the roads. If a man be killed by the hand of
Some lurking foe, another steps from the rank, takes up the
pickaxe of his dead comrade, and falls to work as if nothing
had happened. - -
How often have we seen them, while travelling in the Cau-
casus, set off in the morning from their forts, in bands of two
or three hundred, to their daily labour—the construction of
roads—singing in chorus one of their national airs as if they
were going to parade 1 Yet death lurked about their path
on every side, and scarcely a day passed over that they had
not to mourn the loss of several of their comrades; nay, in
some parts of the country whole detachments were cut off—
and this is the every-day life of the troops of the garrison.
When a campaign takes place, and large masses are put in
motion to seek an enemy, who is never visible except when
certain of victory, their losses are indeed severe; and should
it happen that they are obliged to retreat, it is no longer a
battle but a carnage, unless they have taken the precaution
to occupy all the forests and defiles in their rear, which
cannot possibly be done, in such a mountainous country as
the Caucasus, for any great distance. -
Besides, however valuable the Russian soldiers may be, taken
en masse, and when properly disciplinized, as they generally are,
like all men brought up in complete ignorance, they are only
Serviceable so long as they are under the command of their
officers. Deprive them of this, they become at once a helpless
mass, without soul or life—a mere machine, that can only per-
form its functions so long as it has a skilful engineer to guide
it. As guerillas, they are of no use whatever; for, should the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 327
army, at any time lose its officers, or a battalion become iso-
lated from the main body, they are certain to be massacred to
a man. On the other hand, his opponent, the Circassian, has
not his equal in the world as a guerilla. In addition to his
perfect knowledge of every locality in his country suitable to
carry on his operations, all his movements are made with
wonderful rapidity, foresight, and cunning. It matters not
that the Russians send out their Scouts and skirmishers, and
that their report be favourable; there is an eye that never
slumbers watching their every movement. Thé army is allowed
to advance without molestation, until it arrives at a position
favourable for an attack, then, as if by magic, every tree, Crag,
precipice, and eminence is alive with armed men, who pour
down upon their victims a murderous shower of bullets and
arrows, and then disappear into their fastnesses, where all
pursuit is impossible,_repeating the attack along the whole
line of march, and always with the same success, till these
indefatigable mountaineers have utterly annihilated their
enemies, to effect which they commence by picking off the
officers, knowing from experience that when the chiefs are
gone, the men themselves become bewildered and lost.
In other situations, on the banks of rivers or open places,
they are equally dangerous, provided their inimitable cavalry
can act; for should they unexpectedly surprise a Russian
army, a charge from these terrible horsemen is a most disas-
trous affair. They then sweep down upon them like a living
avalanche, and invariably throw the front and rear into con-
fusion, cut them to pieces, and disappear before the artillery
can be brought to play upon them. -
In fact, the only troops in the Russian service that can at
all cope with the Caucasian guerillas are the Tchernemorsky
Cossacks, on the Kouban and the Black Sea, who, having
adopted the arms of the mountaineers, their usages, their
328 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
address, and rapidity of movement, in short, their mode of
fighting, are in some measure equal to their antagonists. With
respect to their brethren of the Dom, so celebrated for their
bravery as cavalry soldiers, they have no chance whatever,
because they have not been trained to the same sort of
warfare. *
It may seem surprising to some persons, that so formidable
a military power as Russia does not make one mighty effort,
and take possession of the entire country, and thus put an
end to the war; but it must be remembered how impossible
it is to carry on military operations with a large corps
d’armée, in a country so inaccessible as the Caucasus. To
say nothing of the difficulty of transporting the material of
war, and provisions necessary to the Support of a large army,
in a country where there are neither roads, villages, nor food
of any kind to be had—it being the invariable custom of the
Circassians to destroy everything they cannot carry to some
secluded district of the mountains, lest it should assist in sus-
taining the invader—even the Russian forts are too isolated,
and their garrisons too insignificant, to afford either a refuge
or assistance in case of defeat; so that a Russian army in
such a dilemma, without its ships to fall back upon, could
have no chance of escape. |
Such has been the system of warfare carried on in the Cau-
casus, ever since Russia advanced her claim to it on her
imaginary title derived from the treaty of Adrianople; and
truly if the Swiss, in their most glorious days, repelled suc-
cessfully the iron-cased knights of Germany and France, at
the head of their well-disciplined legions, they were at least
nearly equal to their opponents in point of weapons; whereas
here we have a people who, opposed to the murderous fire of
a tremendous force of artillery, whenever it can be brought
to bear against them, and with no other defensive power than
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, 329
the rifle and the sword, have hitherto not only maintained
their independence, but year after year remain the victors.
But to resume our notice on Soukoum-Kalé; we can scarcely
bring ourselves to believe, everything considered, that any
other power than Russia would thus lavishly destroy the lives
of its subjects in attempting to hold a position, which cannot
from its locality, under present circumstances, ensure any im-
portant advantage. Besides being surrounded with a poisonous
atmosphere that engenders disease, her troops are exposed to
the rifle of an enemy that never slumbers; add to which, the
bay is not secure, nor the anchorage good. Again, the coun-
try, in the immediate vicinity of Soukoum-Kalé, is one of the
Wildest and most inaccessible districts in the Caucasus, and
its inhabitants probably the most ferocious, as they certainly
are the most implacable enemies of Russia, the descendants
of the khans and the sultans of the Crimea and Kouban-
Tatary, who have established themselves with their clans; so
great, indeed, is the animosity they cherish to the Russians
down to the present day, they have never been known to give
quarter, or make a prisoner. And when we see these gigantic,
ferocious-looking Tatars, in their sheep-skin jackets and caps
of long wool, carrying in their girdle a complete arsenal of
weapons, with the long Greek gun slung across the shoulder,
the idea of an outlawed robber is at once suggested—a man
who had sworn eternal enmity to civilization; and, however
much we may censure the Russian government, her unfor-
tunate soldiers, exposed to such a climate and such an enemy,
deserve all our sympathy; for we feel assured that so long as
a forest and a mountain remain in Circassia, her children will
never submit to be ruled by a power they have had so much
CauSe to execrate.
330 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
GUERILLA WARFARE IN THE CAUCASUS.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Mount Elbrous, as seen from the sea—Coast of Mingrelia—Redout-Kalº–Sketch of
the town–Tribes of the Caucasus—Insecure rule of Russia in the Caucasus—
Mineral treasures of the Caucasus.
AFTER leaving Soukoum-Kalé, the beautiful mountain coast,
that had so long cheered us on our voyage with its picturesque
variety, gradually receded from the shore, till we arrived
opposite the immense plain of Mingrelia. Much as we

THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 331
admired the beautiful coast scenery of Circassia, we were not
altogether sorry that we had passed the barrier which had so
long shut out the magnificent prospect that now burst upon
the view, for we had now before us the glorious outline of the
Caucasian Alps towering to the heavens in all their splendour;
and as the eye wandered from the impenetrable forests of
Mingrelia that skirted the coast, up to the highest summit of
Mount Elbrous, and the still more distant Kasbeck, so clear
is the atmosphere in this delightful, climate, we could dis-
tinctly trace each mountain range, towering one above the
other to the region of eternal snow, with an occasional glimpse
of the cots and cultivated fields of the mountaineers.
How ardently we wished to explore the mountain region
now before us, whose stupendous alp, Mount Elbrous, rising
to 17,000 feet above the level of the sea, looked like a pillar
raised to support the blue arch of heaven; and how rarely,
if ever, has the foot of a European pressed that alpine soli-
tude of eternal Snow, whence issue the thousand rivers and
torrents that fertilize the Caucasus, and the whole of the ad-
joining countries | What a field is here open to the researches
of future travellers—the sublimest scenery of nature—all that
can inspire man, and elevate his imagination—all that is wild
and beautiful, romantic or sublime ! And what is more calcu-
lated to purify and exalt the mind, than these stupendous
works of the Almighty! A beautiful work of art, a splendid
structure, may excite our admiration; but how insignificant
are they compared with the architecture of nature—its rocks
and precipices, glaciers and eternal Snows, moulded in all their
varied, beautiful, and fantastic forms | Neither must we for-
get, that this alpine region is situated in a country where
glaciers may be said to mingle with fertile valleys, which by
the hand of the husbandman might be made to teem with the
choicest productions of the most favoured clime, and where
332 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
a journey of a few hours is sufficient to transport the tra-
veller from the balmy sun of the South to the region of
eternal ice. -
Surely we may expect that the day is not far distant, when
these interesting countries will be thrown open to the enter-
prise of those nations, who have lent the aid of their money
and their arms to depose that power which has so long and
So arbitrarily opposed a barrier to the progress of enlighten-
ment and free institutions among the nations. May we not
expect that the gallant inhabitants of the Caucasus will be
declared independent, and their beautiful country become
the magnet of attraction to all the tourists of Europe? What
a field will then be open to the lover of the picturesque, the
mineralogist, the botanist, the geologist, and those interested
in the history of nations, in the study of the legendary ballads
and traditions of the most interesting, and perhaps the most
ancient, of all the races of the world !
It was impossible to look on that glorious scene, now
pictured before us on the broad arch of heaven,_that moun-
tain barrier, the fabled home of our race, against which the
waves of Russian ambition have for more than a quarter of a
century chafed and raged in vain,_without feeling an enthu-
siasm, a glow of mingled wonder and admiration, for the
heroism of its gallant inhabitants, who, while the indolent
Turk and the Persian submitted to the encroachments of
their powerful neighbour—may, trembled at the very name of
the mighty despot of the north, alone had the courage to
arrest his progress. Gladly, indeed, would Russia have pur-
sued her usual policy in the Caucasus, and which had so well
succeeded with more civilized nations—have followed the
advice given by the oracle at Delphos to Philip of Macedon:
“If thou wouldst conquer the Greeks, fight with silver
spears.” Gladly, indeed, would she have paved with her gold
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 333
a way through the Caucasus to the long-coveted districts of
Central Asia. Happily for the success of the present war,
there was one virtuous race still left in Asia—one brave
people that loved their country and their independence better
than the gold of the stranger; who preferred their mountain
home, their simple habits, and liberty, to all the splendour
and luxury the tempter had to offer them.
*On leaving Soukoum-Kalé, we passed the unimportant
bays, Kettasour, Kodor-Tscuria, and Anaklia. Anaklia, situ-
ated at the confluence of the Ingour and the Agis, is said to have
been built on the site of the ancient Heraclia. It is now
merely used as a fishing-station; as the whole of this part of
the Black Sea abounds in sturgeon, particularly that very
rare species known as the Cephalo, from which is manufac-
tured the best description of caviare. Salmon-trout are also
found in the Ingour and the Agis, and vast quantities of
herrings near the coast, which, though diminutive in size, are
unequalled for the delicacy of their flavour.
From Anaklia to Redout-Kalé, with the exception of a
distant view of the Caucasian Alps and the high lands of
Immeretia, the low marshy coast of Mingrelia did not offer a
single feature to enliven the monotony of the landscape. It
is true, there were forests of splendid trees, and vast districts
of reeds and bulrushes, but no appearance, as far as we could
perceive from our ships, that man had yet made his home in
these dreary solitudes.
At length we cast anchor at the mouth of the ancient
Cyanes, now called the Khopi, with the intention of visiting
Redout-Kalé, another of the military stations of Russia on
the Black Sea. To accomplish this, however, was a work of
Ino little difficulty, even in a small rowing-boat, on account of
the accumulation of sand at the bar—a perfect mountain in
the Sea; and this is no exaggerated description, for on both
334 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
sides of the bar there is sufficient depth of water to float a
man-of-war, a practical illustration, if we required one, of
the culpable neglect with which the unlucky inhabitants of
this once prosperous country have been treated by their
barbarous rulers. Even when the Turks and the princes of
Mingrelia held possession of Redout-Kalé, there was a law in
force which compelled every vessel, on crossing the bar, to
draw after it a ponderous iron rake, which had the effect of
keeping the passage open to vessels of a certain burden; but
since its new lords, the Russians, have taken possession, this
process, although so simple and inexpensive, has been discon-
tinued; consequently the bank is yearly increasing in size,
and, to add to the evil, the whole of the surrounding country
is becoming a swamp, as dangerous to the health of man as
the Pontine marshes in Italy.
We can easily comprehend the policy of the Russian go-
vernment in allowing the accumulation of sand at the mouth
of the Danube; but why treat the Khopi in the same man-
ner —a fine navigable river, running into the heart of Min-
grelia, a province which, to all intents and purposes, she may
call her own, so little authority do its princes exercise over
the affairs of the country. We confess therefore, in this
instance, our inability to fathom the motives of Russia. Per-
haps she is not certain of the fidelity of the inhabitants, and,
by shutting them out from all communication with their
neighbours, can the more easily hold them in subjection; or
it may be that, entertaining the design of taking possession
of Batoum and Trebizond, two fine harbours on the Turkish
coast, a few years hence, or at least on the first convenient
opportunity, the ports of Redout-Kalé and Poti on the Phase
were not worth the cost and trouble of preserving.
On crossing the bar, we found ourselves in the Khopi, a
fine navigable river, tranquil as a lake, with sufficient water
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 335
to receive vessels of very considerable burden. What a scene
of desolation . As far as the eye could reach, there was
scarcely anything to be seen but one vast marsh—the home
of the pelican of the wilderness, and every aquatic bird that
shuns the haunts of man; and this continued to Redout-Kalé,
distant nearly four miles.
About two miles inland, we came to another river called
the Syba, also navigable, and said to be considerably deeper
than the Khopi. Both these rivers have their source in the
Alps; and, as may be supposed, on the melting of the snow or
after heavy rains, the volume of water becoming considerably
increased, and not finding a sufficient outlet in the sea,
inundates the whole of the surrounding country.
Redout-Kalé is the fac-simile of every other town, great or
small, in this part of Asia. There are bazaars, and long
narrow lanes intended for streets, unpaved and dirty, with
the usual hut-like houses built of wood, as wretched in their
external appearance as comfortless within, with dogs and
vultures for scavengers, and a deep gutter in the centre of
every street, the only substitute for a sewer. However much
the health of the inhabitants may suffer from the malaria of
the marshes, and this town is said to be one of the most
unhealthy on the coast of the Black Sea, it has not lost the
whole of its former commercial prosperity, when Redout-
Kalé was the great depôt for English manufactures on their
way to Central Asia. Being still the only town of any size
and importance on the sea-coast of Mingrelia, the inhabitants
of the surrounding countries resort thither, as a mart to pur-
chase whatever foreign manufactures they may require.
Our visit to Redout–Kalé having been made during the
great summer fair, we saw the town under the most favourable
circumstances; it also afforded us an opportunity of Seeing
specimens of all the various races who inhabit the neighbour-
336 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
ing provinces. In addition to Mingrelians and Immeretians,
there were Georgians and Persians, Circassians, Lesghians, and
Armenians, together with Jews, Turks, Tatars, and Turk-
omans,—a curious mélange, each habited in their separate
costume, and exhibiting in their features and manners their
characteristic peculiarities.
While wandering through this vast assemblage of races,
Prince Worronzow kindly pointed out to me the different
nationalities. There was the stately Georgian in his becoming
costume, a blue cloth blouse with the sleeves open to the
elbow, the whole meatly braided; wide shalwurs confined at the
knees, and a high cap of black Astracan lamb-skin. In fea-
tures he might be taken for an Armenian or a Persian: the
only weapon he carried was a large poniard with an ivory
handle, stuck in a red silk sash. The Mingrelians and the Im-
meretians, in their costume and features, somewhat resembled
the Circassians, except that they were much inferior in per-
Sonal appearance, and wanted the bright sparkling eye and
bold independence of manner which distinguish that people.
These peasants were all well armed with poniard, pistols, and
gun slung across the shoulder; and carried, hanging from the
shoulder, the same species of black mantle, made from plaited
goat's hair, as the Circassians are accustomed to use. But
by far the most interesting among the assembled multitude,
were the inhabitants of the higher Alps, the Souanians of
Souanethia, a territory where the winter, it is said, lasts eight
or nine months in the year. These gigantic mountaineers
were all armed to the teeth, and looked as fierce and Savage
as if they had never before mingled among civilized men.
Instead of the becoming blouse worn by their countrymen on
the coast of Circassia, they were habited in long sheep-skin
coats, ornamented in front with the usual red leather patron
pocket of a Caucasian mountaineer, sheep-skin caps with the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSlA. 337
wool plaited in ringlets, while their bare legs were encased in
a sort of Sandal, made of untanned leather and fastened with
thongs.
Besidesthese, there were several other tribes from the remote
districts of the Caucasus equally interesting; and as they
were all on friendly terms with the Russian government, they
were allowed to purchase salt, tobacco, and powder, the latter
however in Small quantities. From the circumstance of the
Mingrelians and Immeretians being allowed to retain their
arms, we must infer that the power of Russia is not firmly
established over these provinces, as the same privilege is not
granted to her subjects of Georgia and Russian Armenia.
At all events, the Russian soldier of the garrison may felicitate
himself upon possessing one advantage over his comrades of
all the other Russian forts we visited in the Caucasus, he has
Only a single enemy to contend with at Redout-Kalé—marsh
miasma.
In fact, the authority of Russia over these provinces, Min-
grelia, Immeretia, and Gourial, is extremely precarious. She
knows well that so long as she is at war with the inhabitants
of Daghestan and the Western Caucasus, the slightest infringe-
ment upon the liberties of the people—for they are very tena-
cious of their freedom—would lead to a rebellion, and, it might
be, endanger the loss of Georgia, a province which from its
position is the key to all her Trans-Caucasian possessions.
Hence she has not dared to introduce her usual complicated
machinery of passports and fiscal laws, neither has she inun-
dated the country with an army of officials to enforce the
various harassing regulations, by means of which she knows
. So well how to enslave every people that has had the mis-
fortune to fall under her rule. No doubt there would be a
very different system pursued if she succeeded in subduing
the untamed and untameable spirit of Daghestan and Circassia.
Z. &
338 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
We should then, as in old Russia, and in every other country
where she has succeeded in establishing her power, behold the
same elaborate system of despotism substituted for the mild
rule of their patriarchal chiefs and elders, and every privilege
the people now possess wrested from them, till they became,
like the rest of the inert and spiritless mass over which she
rules—a machine to be guided by the hand of a skilful
engineer. * , *
At present, these provinces are only valuable to Russia in
a political point of view. So far from being a source of revenue,
they are a constant drain upon the treasury, from the expense
they entail upon the government in maintaining garrisons in
so many military forts, and the large sums annually dis-
bursed in the form of pensions, for the purpose of securing the
allegiance of the various petty princes and elders, which they
in their simplicity believe to be a tribute. The farce is even
carried so far, that the princes of Mingrelia receive upwards
of two thousand roubles a-year for permitting the Russians to
establish themselves as a trading community at Redout-Kalé!
whereas Mingrelia, together with Georgia, was declared a
province of Russia during the reign of the late Emperor
Alexander; but it serves to mystify a half-civilized people,
and prevents them from making common cause with their
neighbours, the independent tribes of the mountain.
There is also a chain of sympathy in religion, which binds
them to Russia, the majority of the inhabitants being mem-
bers of the Oriental Church. But how far we can call a
people Christian who still practise many of the rites of
Paganism, such as the worship of ancient idols, and the
Sacrifice of animals as propitiatory offerings, is somewhat
difficult to determine; and these customs are very general
among the Mingrelians, the Immeretians, and the Georgians,
particularly the inhabitants of the mountain districts of these
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 339
provinces, many of whom openly profess Mahometanism,
and every attempt to convert them to Christianity has
hitherto failed. It is true they frequently attend the nearest
church, get the silver rouble and the silver cross allowed them
by the Russian government, submit to be baptized, then
wander to another and repeat the ceremony, but they remain
no less good Mussulmans or good Pagans, as the case
may be.
The real fact is this, and we know it both from personal
observation while travelling in these districts, and from the
conversation of Russian officers: the power of Russia even in
this, the most peaceable portion of her Trans-Caucasian
possessions, is based on sand. The priests of the Greek Church,
and the petty chieftains and elders, her pensioners, are no
doubt by interest attached to her rule; but the people, one
and all, detest it. Nay, it is by no means improbable, now
that these provinces are on the very threshold of the theatre
of war, that they will openly express their discontent and fly
to arms, should the Turks on One side, and the warriors of
Daghestan, the Lesghians, on the other, succeed in gaining a
Sure footing in these provinces.
The Mingrelians, Immeretians, and Georgians, all of the
Same race, each speaking a different dialect of the same lan-
guage, have not forgotten the might and power of their
ancestors, nor that, less than a century ago, they were ruled
by chiefs who knew how to make their countries respected by
their hereditary enemies, the Turks and Persians. Perhaps
the Russians have not more implacable enemies in the Cau-
casus, than those tribes of the same race who inhabit the
elevated districts of Georgia, Immeretia, and Mingrelia, nor
any that harass the Russian troops more perseveringly on
their route from Tiflis to Daghestan. At all events it is
certain, that no traveller who is not recommended to their
340 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
chieftains, can pass through the defiles and gorges of their
country without being protected by an armed escort from
fort to fort. This danger has increased of late years, in
consequence of the civil wars in Turkey and Persia, which
drove great numbers of outlawed Turks and Persians to seek
a home in the Caucasus, all enemies of Russia, and being
for the most part men of the world, they have widely pro-
pagated their hatred and animosity among the inhabitants to
the systematic enemy of the East.
Indeed, all the Russian officers we conversed with, who had
served in the Caucasus, were of the same opinion, that no
government, however powerful, enterprising and humane,
could succeed in establishing its rule over a people who, in
addition to the attachment they have ever displayed for the
government of their native chiefs, and their own wild inde-
pendence, consider no engagement binding with the stranger;
since nearly every tribe in the Eastern Caucasus repeatedly
gave in their adhesion to the Russian government, only to
raise the standard of revolt on the first favourable oppor-
tunity, and massacre the garrison of the forts. Even the
Ossetians, who inhabit the alpine districts of the Kasbeck,
supposed to be a tribe of Slavonians, and whom Catherine the
Second believed she had converted to Christianity, have been
won over, it is said, to Mahometanism by the preaching of
the prophet of the Caucasus, Khasi Moullah, and his successor
Schamyl Bey, and are now the allies of the Lesghians.
Perhaps, of all the mountaineers who inhabit this part of the
Caucasus, the most dangerous and the most difficult to
subdue are those powerful tribes, the Suonians and the
Ingushes. This very numerous and warlike people occupy
the whole of the alpine and mountain districts, from Elbrous
to the frontiers of Mingrelia and Immeretia. It is supposed
they are the Original inhabitants of the Caucasus, as all the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 341
early writers allude to them by name. The Russians have
never been able to penetrate into the country they inhabit.
Among the many romantic stories in circulation respecting
them, it is said there are certain Eden-like districts in the
interior, only known to this people, sheltered by the Alps
from every harsh wind, where the cold of winter and the
heat of summer are equally unknown. Nay, it is even
reported that here was the home of our first parents, the
gold and silver mines of the ancients, and a hundred other
reports equally marvellous and romantic.
Prince Worronzow, who is an accomplished linguist, and
has always taken a great interest in whatever relates to the
ancient history of the tribes of the Caucasus, and is better
acquainted with them and their country than any other man
of our day, seemed to think that the Suoni tribes belong to
the great family of the Lazi, described by Precopius, or at
least that they at one time acknowledged their rule. He
grounds this supposition on the similarity between the lan-
guage they speak and that of the Lazi: for instance, Dada
(father), and Daal, Thaut (God). As to their name, Suoni
(Alp), it merely designates the alpine country they inhabit.
The Prince confirmed one of the reports concerning this
mysterious people, which is, that they simply worship one
God, whom they denominate Daal, and believe in the immor-
tality of the soul. It is also worthy of remark, and singular
enough, that all the attempts hitherto made, either by the
missionaries of the Turks and the Persians to convert them
to Mohometanism, or the Russians to their form of Chris-
tianity, have failed. Still, they celebrate Sunday in the same
manner as we do, making it a day of rest. Their division of
time, also, and many of their observances, tend to confirm the
supposition that they were at one time converts to Chris-
tianity, and not unacquainted with Judaisiu, as many of their
342 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
religious rites and ceremonies approach very nearly to the
Mosaic observances. -
In this, and nearly every other particular connected with
the religion, habits, manners, and customs of the Caucasian
tribes, we have not ventured to make a statement that was
not supported by the authority of some enlightened, unpre-
judiced Russian officer, whose campaigns in the Caucasus had
afforded him opportunities of gleaning particulars which no
traveller could obtain; and it would be unjust not to admit,
that we ever found them both willing and pleased to com-
municate whatever knowledge and information they might
have acquired. With respect, however, to the Caucasus in
general, they were ever ready to admit that there are dis-
tricts in the interior to which they have never been able to
penetrate; and they seemed to agree in the prevailing opinion,
that these unknown districts are both extensive and fertile,
and lie between the two great Alps, Elbrous and Kasbeck,--
adducing as a reason for this conclusion, that the Circassians
invariably taunt them by saying, “You may establish your-
solves on the coast, and maintain possession of the Sea, but
you will never be able to force an entrance into the alpine
home of the Suoni and the Ingushes; and there we have
corn-fields and vineyards, meadows and grazing-grounds,
sufficient to maintain all our people, and even more than
we want.” *
Reineggs, the Russian mineralogist, one of the earliest tra-
wellers in the Caucasus, who was sent out many years before
the war commenced with presents to the chieftains of the
Caucasus, but really with the intention of ascertaining the
truth of the reports respecting the existence of gold in the
mountains, in his report to the government, says that he dis-
covered, on the south side of the territory of the Suoni, the
galleries and shafts whence the ancients, in all probability,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 343.
were accustomed to get their wonderful supply of gold and
silver. From that time all traces of them have been lost 5
hence it is concluded that the mountaineers, dreading the
inroads of foreign invaders, destroyed every vestige of them.
That gold exists in that part of the Caucasus, there can be no
doubt, as this metal is found in the Ingour, and all its tri-
butary streams that have their source in the alpine region of
Elbrous. It is also worthy of remark, that shortly after the
report of Reineggs, the Russians commenced their aggressive
war in the Caucasus, no doubt partly stimulated by the hope
of obtaining possession of these valuable mines. Indeed, there
is not an intelligent Russian, whatever may be his political
opinions, who does not believe that these mines will one day
prove the source of inexhaustible wealth to any power who
may obtain possession of the country. Since Reineggs' time,
Several attempts have been made by adventurers to obtain an
entrance into the mysterious home of the Suoni, in their
Search for gold, but they never returned. -
Having now brought our coasting voyage to a close, we
trust the reader will accompany us into the interior, that we
may show him something more of the country and its
inhabitants. -
344 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
CHAPTER, XXV.
Historical sketch of the Caucasus and its inhabitanis—Russian intrigues in the Cau-
casus—Elijah Mansour, the first warrior-prophet of the Caucasus—His history
and mysterious disappearance—His successors, Khasi-Moullah and Schamyl-Bey
—Their career.
AT a crisis like the present, when the East seems destined to
become the battle-field of the Old World,—which, by one of
those extraordinary and unexpected revolutions that con-
stitute an era in the history of the human race, will thus
prepare the way for the introduction of European enlighten-
ment and civilization into the remotest and most benighted
districts, we cannot but pause to reflect on the strange
destiny of that vast alpine region, the Caucasian Isthmus.
The important position it occupies, midway between Europe
and Asia, its double line of Sea-coast, and the extraordinary
strength of its mountain fastnesses—have from the remotest
antiquity attracted the attention of every conqueror that
aimed at universal sovereignty: it has, nevertheless, hitherto
foiled every effort to effect its subjugation.
This was the barrier that arrested the victorious arms of
the Assyrian, the Persian, the Greek, and the Roman,—the
stronghold that towered in its mountain freedom above the
tide of conquest that swept around it; and now, as then, has
for more than half-a-century bidden defiance to the aggressive
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 345
ambition of the greatest military power of modern days.
How deeply, therefore, must every humane and chivalrous
bosom sympathise with the heroic tribes of this devoted
country, who from the beginning of time have preserved
their rugged home inviolate from the foot of every invader;
and how deeply interesting to every reflecting mind must be
their future destiny!
Impregnable from the natural strength of its position,-
possessed, as we have shown, of a most important line of
coast, indented with a succession of as fine natural harbours
as are to be found anywhere, blessed with a climate the
most delightful, and valleys the most fertile, teeming with
every production that can minister to the wants of man,—
and occupying a position that may entitle it to the designa-
tion of the bridge between Europe and Asia, it is yet a
region as unexplored and as little known, as fable-haunted
and as mysterious, as when it figured in the songs of immor-
tal. Greece, or as when designated Tauran by the Chaldeans,
and Seddi-Iskender (Barrier of Alexander) by the Persians;
while all that Arrian and Strabo have told us concerning it
might be applied to it in the present day, so little have its
inhabitants changed, either in their form of government,
manners, or customs. May we not therefore hope, that when
the present crisis shall have resolved itself, and the genial
current of European civilization shall win its gradual way
throughout the entire East, that this region also, that has
resisted every hostile aggression, from the days of the con-
queror of Macedon to those of the Russian Tzars, shall at
length, by its magic influence, be won to a long and brilliant
career of social prosperity and well-being'
Inhabited by races in whom the love of country is the pre-
dominant feeling—who, in all ages, have not only perilled life
and limb in an almost unceasing struggle for liberty, but
346 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
have manfully resisted the more subtle inroads of that sys-
tematic corruption by which Russia has paved her way to
dominion among almost every other people that own her
sway; may not this country, as we have before said, become
a new Helvetic Confederation, on the confines of Europe and
Asia, the chosen abode of liberty, and the refuge of the
oppressed of every surrounding community? º
When we recollect how much the little republic of Switzer-
land, true to its national instincts of freedom, has effected,—
how immeasurably it has raised itself in the social scale above
the priest-ridden, despot-trodden countries around it, is it
saying too much to predict a high and glorious career for
this region, if once freed from Russian aggression, and erected
into a confederation of independent states, possessed as it is
of natural advantages to which Switzerland cannot lay the
shadow of a claim 7 }
With respect to the Circassians, who for the most part
inhabit the Western Caucasus, all that had been hitherto
written respecting them has not removed the veil of mystery
that still obscures their origin. That they were at one time
a very powerful people, and ruled not only over the Caucasian
Isthmus but the Crimea, there can be no doubt, as many of
the rivers, mountains, nay, even forts in these countries, still
retain their Circassian appellation. The Byzantine Greeks,
from the earliest times, have been accustomed to designate
the inhabitants of the Western Caucasus as the Zychians, the
Greek word for Circassian, and describe their territory to
have extended from Pitzounda, the ancient Pythus, along the
coast of the Black Sea, to the mouth of the Kouban. The
Genoese, who had several commercial establishments on
the Circassian coast of the Black Sea in the middle ages,
confirm this statement. They also say that, of every other
race in the Caucasus, they were the most highly distinguished
THE BLACK SEA, ANI) CERCASSIA. 347
for their bravery, and had attained a certain degree of civili-
zation; that they were courteous in their manners, hospitable
to their guests, and most stubbornly tenacious of their inde-
pendence. -
The Circassians, in their own language, distinguish them-
Selves from the other races in the Caucasus by the name of
Attéghi, which signifies a people inhabiting a country between
two seas, from which we might infer they were the original
inhabitants of the Isthmus. All the attempts of the Ger-
mans to prove that they are descended from the Alans, the
Arabians, and the Medes, have no real foundation, and must
be at once overthrown if we study the Circassian language,
which all philologists agree in saying has no affinity to any
other yet known. -
It is, however, a singular fact that the history and origin of
a people, who evidently ruled over a vast tract of the country
extending over the Caucasian Isthmus, the whole of the
Crimea, and the adjoining provinces, should present no
stronger claim to authenticity than the song of the bard, the
tradition of the poet, and the names of inanimate objects;
while every other nation, however barbarous, possesses some
historical record, some account of its connexion with the race
that preceded it. In the present day, this people is distin-
guished from every other race in the Caucasus by a certain
martial air, symmetry of form, great physical strength, and
handsome, expressive features,--the true type of the Caucasian
race. It is also worthy of remark, that wherever this race
has intermingled with any other, whether Tatar, Turk, or
Cossack, the influence of Caucasian blood has always dis-
played itself in ennobled and more perfect type of form and
feature. -
The Russians and the Turks call the Circassians by the
name of Tcherkess, which signifies cut the road; we presume
348. TURKEY, RUSSIA,
derived from the circumstance of their never permitting the
march of a foreign soldier through their territories. The
Persians distinguish them from the other tribes of the Cau-
casus by the name of Kassack; so that it is not improbable
the free bands of the Cossacks of the middle ages first issued
from the Caucasus.
We had no means of ascertaining with anything like accu-
racy the amount of the population of the Caucasus. Prince
• Worronzow seemed to think that they number, including
Immeretia, Mingrelia, and Georgia, about 3,000,000, which
does not agree with the statements of the Turks, who give
them more than 4,000,000, and say that they can bring into
the field 700,000 fighting men.
The Circassian tribes, distinguished by the name of Atteghi,
divided into clans, and acknowledging the rule of their own
chiefs, are the most numerous; and their form of government
may be said to be a species of aristocratic republic, composed
of chiefs, nobles, and clansmen, in whom rank is only recog-
mised in their public and patriarchal capacity, as chieftains,
lawgivers, and elders; otherwise a perfect equality exists in
all the relations of social and domestic life.
It is not difficult to trace the origin of this form of govern-
ment. In the infancy of the world, man was taught to revere
and respect his parents. In process of time, when families
multiplied to tribes, the oldest and wisest members of the
community naturally assumed the office of judge and peace-
maker, while the brave and impetuous spirit led the way to
the chase and the battle. When one more courageous than
the rest became renowned for valour in the field, and wisdom
in the council, his followers increased, and proud to serve
under such a leader, remained firmly attached to his standard.
The first-born of such a chief naturally succeeded to the autho-
rity of his father; hence originated hereditary government,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 349
and the formation of chieftains and clans,—the system of
government pursued by this isolated people from time imme-
morial, simple and patriarchal in its form, and well adapted
to a mountain country, where the different tribes, each con-
fined within its own strong barrier, lived as secure and inde-
pendent of each other as if they had been so many mighty
kingdoms.
This was the condition of the whole of the Caucasian
Isthmus when Peter the Great of Russia, a man of extra-
ordinary tact and ability, adopted the old Roman maxim—
“Divide and conquer.” In accordance with these views he
first commenced his intrigues in Immeretia, Mingrelia, and
Georgia, whose inhabitants were, for the most part, of his own
Church, the Oriental—thus setting the example of that line of
policy which has ever been pursued by his successors; and so
effectually did he succeed in behalf of his co-religionists, that
at the peace of Kainardji in 1774, they were declared inde-
pendent both of Turkey and Persia, and placed under the
protection of Russia. What an ominous safeguard for the
protection of a nation: What a promise does it convey of
dismemberment, prostration, and ruin
As might be expected, quarrels and dissensions were
formented between the petty rulers of these kingdoms. He-
raclia, the king of Georgia, put forth an old claim to some
part of the territory of his neighbour, Soloman, the king of
Immeretia. The latter having found an ally in Khazia, the
king of Mingrelia, a war ensued, as bitter as any on record
between nations, and continued till one-half of the inhabitants
were swept away by the sword, pestilence, and famine; and
then, and then only, did the protector interfere, when the
quarrel between the disputants was arranged by pensioning
the princes, and annexing their territories to the Russian
efnpire.
:350 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Having succeeded so well in this part of the Caucasus, the
Same System was pursued among the Circassian princes of the
two Kabardahs, the Lesghian chieftains of Daghestan on the
Caspian Sea, and those of Circassia on the coast of the Black
Sea. In the meantime, while they were ravaging each other's
territories, and perpetuating a spirit of revenge among a
people whose laws exacted “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a
tooth,” she found means, by bribery, promises, and flattery, to
procure a sufficient number of allies among the petty chief.
tains to enable her to make a road, the Wladi-Kaukas, through
the centre of the Caucasus, everywhere well defended by forts
with their garrisons, and which connects the Russian empire
with Immeretia, Georgia, and Mingrelia. All the old jea-
lousies of the Caucasian people were excited; they flew to arms,
massacred the princes that betrayed them, and now com-
menced that war of which history Scarcely affords a parallel,
in point of disproportion between the two contending powers.
How many harrowing tales are told of the ravages perpe-
trated by the Russian generals, all natives of Germany,
Krudener, Herman, and Medem . The latter rendered him-
Self by his cruelties so terrible to the Caucasians, that his,
name is used as an imprecation by that people to this day.
The two Kabardahs, the country of the Tchechenes and
Daghestan, lying on the Russian frontier, suffered the most,
particularly the latter, which is described in the memoirs of
Halim Pacha to have become a vast funeral pyre. Such was
the position of these unfortunate countries, when a chieftain
little known in Europe, but whose fame will live for ever in
the annals of the Caucasus, made his appearance. This ex-
traordinary man, with an energy almost superhuman, quickly
succeeded in uniting the whole of the Lesghian chieftains of
Baghestan and their bands in one common bond of union, and
by his bravery in the field, and his eloquence as a preacher,
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, 351
for he assumed the threefold character of priest, warrior, and
prophet—inspired them to deeds of the most romantic valour.
This was Elijah Mansour, who may be said to have been the
regenerator of these tribes, over whom he continued till his
death to exercise the most unbounded influence.
It was not alone Daghestan that benefited by the prowess
and the wisdom of this indefatigable chieftain; he was to be
found in every part of the Caucasus, preaching union among
the chieftains and hatred to Russia. Now at the head of the
Nogay and Kara-Tatars on the banks of the Kouban, then in
the Crimea and Turkey, and again at the head of the warriors
of Daghestan, by whom he was regarded as the blessed Iman,
at once invulnerable and irresistible, he was however, after
a long career of glory, taken by the Russians in 1791, at
the siege of Anapa, and from that time he has never been
heard of.
The Russian historians of the war in the Caucasus usually
style Mansour Bey the “false prophet;” and, from the cir-
cumstance of his speaking several of the European languages,
and his intimate acquaintance with the arts and mode of
warfare practised in Europe, they considered him to be a rene-
gade Pole in disguise. This does not agree with the accounts
left us by the Turkish historians, who say that their hero was
a descendant of the great Sultan Tschelal-Edden, who ruled
over a great part of Persia, Georgia, and the adjoining coun-
tries, previous to the conquest of Ghenghis Khan,
Be this as it may, Elijah Mansour was in every respect a
man of no common powers, the Napoleon of his day, and
certainly the greatest enemy that Russia ever had in these
countries. He owed his successes entirely to the circum-
stance that he made consolidation his system of policy, and
practically convinced the people of the advantages to be
derived from unanimity—a system that has hean happily
352 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
followed by the chieftains of Daghestan; and, although the
whole population of this portion of the Caucasus, with their
allies the Tchechenes, do not amount to more than half a
million, yet they have continued ever since to combat the
Russians with a success rarely equalled by a half-civilized
people in their wars with a powerful nation, armed with all
the advantages of modern military science.
The Lesghians of Daghestan found a worthy successor to
their famous prophet, Bey Mansour, in Khasi-Moullah; and,
although he was not a warrior himself, he excited his followers
to deeds of heroism by his eloquence, and made the whole of
the Caucasus again resound with the victories of Daghestan.
In vain, General Paskewitch, the conqueror of the Poles and
the Persians, was sent to the Caucasus. He could make no
impression upon the warriors of Daghestan. His successor,
General Rosen, a very able general, fared no better; for
Khasi-Moullah, with his terrible murids—those fierce warriors
of the prophet—were ever ready to fall upon the Russians
when least expected, and to turn every opportunity to advan-
tage. If they happened to pass through a defile, every height
was covered by them as if by magic. If they sought the
shade of the forest to snatch a few minutes' repose, the trees
seemed to be alive with them, and a murderous discharge of
musketry poured down on them, while the enemy, however
diligently pursued, ever evaded their grasp. In vain villages
were sacked and burnt, gardens and orchards, vineyards and
corn-fields destroyed. No supplications were made for peace;
no safety existed for a Russian soldier, Save within the strong
walls of a fortress.
Poor Khasi-Moullah, like every fanatic who believes that a
Divine mission has been delegated to him, having escaped
through many perils, and impressed with the conviction that
he was invulnerable alike to the bullet and the sword of
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 353
Giaour, became more bold in his attacks, and in an evil hour,
having sought his enemy in the fortress, he was fated to die
by the thrust of a bayonet. He, however, preserved his
character as a prophet with his followers, as the prediction
that no sword, or bullet, of a Giaour could reach him was
literally fulfilled.
What Elijah Mansour commenced in Daghestan, and was
afterwards partially carried out by Khasi-Moullah, Schamyl-
bey, the present high priest, warrior, and prophet of the
Caucasus, has perfected. This celebrated chieftain, whose
wars with the Russians, dangers and personal adventures,
would form a romance in itself, was born somewhere about
the beginning of the present century, at the village of Hemry,
in Daghestan. He has had the great advantage over the
other chieftains of the Caucasus, of being educated with
every care by one of the most learned and eloquent men of
his country, the well-known Moullah Tshelel-Eddin, nephew
and disciple of the great warrior prophet Mansour-bey, to
whose instructions he is indebted for the proficiency he has
acquired in the language, history, literature, and philosophy
of the Arabs, as well as the extraordinary eloquence he is
said to display, both as a warrior chieftain, and as a skilful
propounder of religion. His proclamations to the Caucasians,
when he finds it necessary to answer any of the bombastic,
truth-denying manifestos of the Russian generals, are said to
be some of the cleverest productions in any language.
Schamyl-bey is, in fact, one of those extraordinary men
who now and then appear in the East, and astonish mankind
by the depth of their wisdom and the tact they display in
uniting hostile creeds and races. While the fanatic Turks
and Persians have been massacring each other for centuries,
because they cannot agree whether Ali or Omar was invested
with the mantle of the prophet, in the same manner as the
A. A
354 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
Latin and Greek Churches have been disputing respecting
the Orthodoxy of their respective creeds, our clever chieftain
of Daghestan has discovered not only the means of reconciling
Omar with Ali, but of uniting men of all religions in one
common feeling of brotherhood, and hatred against the rule
of the Moscow. Hence he has succeeded in attracting to his
standard thousands of deserters from the Russian army, and
he now sees himself surrounded by a life-guard, the Murids
(Murtosigats), who, like Oliver Cromwell's Ironsides, are at
once soldiers and religious enthusiasts. .
In addition to these he has under his command an army
of at least 60,000 men; all veterans, and for the most part
composed of members of the various tribes of the Caucasus,
and strangers from every part of Eastern Europe and Asia.
He has also succeeded in introducing various reforms into
Daghestan; established a regular government; tribunals
of justice; a posting system; gens d’armes to protect tra-
vellers, with Khans for their accommodation; he likewise
levies taxes; in fact, assimilated everything as much as
possible to the customs and usages of civilized communities.
His troops are regularly paid, and by instituting decorations
and rank among his officers, and by rewarding their bravery
with grants of money and lands, he has excited emulation, and
encouraged strangers to take Service in his army. For this,
and many of the novelties of European discipline, and, indeed,
the efficiency of his troops, he has been indebted to his friend
and companion in arms, Danial Bey, who rose to the rank of
General in the Russian army, and is only second to Schamyl
himself. :
If we are to believe the reports current in Russia, this new
creed of which Schamyl is the Prophet and expounder, is
exceedingly liberal in its tendencies, tolerant to the professors
of every faith, and, if it can be called Mahometanism, at all
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 355
events, it is divested of many of the superstitions and ab-
surdities of that creed. This has no doubt contributed to his
success in no inconsiderable degree, and to the attachment
manifested towards him by the members of so many rival
creeds. In fact, the religion of Schamyl is not altogether new
in the East; it originated many years ago in Arabia; was
first preached in the Caucasus by Elijah Mansour, and may
be considered political in its tendencies, encouraging free-
dom and independence, and condemning the debasing ma-
terialism, which in the present day degrades the religion of
Mahomet.
Schamyl may be taken as a perfect specimen of his race, the
Lesghian, who are said to be a mixture of the Alani and the
Saracens. There is nothing of that rare beauty of feature,
symmetry of form, and physical force that distinguishes
the Circassian; but they are active and agile in the highest
degree, able to bear any fatigue, courageous in the field,
persevering, and we may add, vindictive, above every other
race in the Caucasus. The Vendetta of a Lesghian is a ter-
rible affair; with him blood can only be expiated with blood,
and until vengeance has been taken, he believes that the
spirit of the deceased will never rest in peace. Hence when a
Lesghian falls on the field of battle, there is always some sworn
friend ready to avenge his death; thus perpetuating from
generation to generation, the intense hatred entertained by
this people against their ancient foe, the Russians; the
necessity of a propitiatory sacrifice being impressed upon
them by their parents and elders, as an atonement that must
be made to the manes of their slaughtered ancestors!
With such feelings, and actuated by such motives, the un-
lucky Russian soldier who happens to fall within the murderous
grasp of one of these Lesghian fanatics, has little chance for
his life, unless he lappells to be rescued by one of their more
356 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
enlightened leaders. It is but justice to Schamyl to say, that
since he has arrived to power, he has done everything by his
own example, and by the severest punishments, to put an end
to this terrible system of retributive justice, but as yet with
little success. He has however induced the inhabitants of some
districts to adopt the Circassian code, which allows a man to
purchase the forbearance of his enemy by paying a reasonable
fine. -
However repugnant to our feelings this inexorable spirit of
revenge in a Lesghian may be, the law which says “he who
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed,” acts as
a powerful curb upon a people of So fiery a disposition; and
when they do quarrel among themselves, the contest is seldom
of long duration, and never so fatal in its consequences as
might be expected.
Schamyl-Bey commenced his military career as a Murid in
the body-guard of his predecessor, Khasi-Moullah, when he
was distinguished among his comrades for his sanctity, absti-
nence, and heroic bravery. He was, however, indebted for
his present elevated position to a very singular circumstance,
which still remains a mystery.
When the fortress of Hemry, his native town, was besieged,
the garrison, which consisted chiefly of Murids, resolved to
defend their chief, Khasi-Moullah, to the last extremity, and
forming, as it does, part of the religious obligation of a Murid,
the slaughter of the Russians was indeed fearful, but the
generals Rosen and Willemineff were determined, cost what
it might, to take the fortress; knowing they would at the same
time capture the prophet, Khasi-Moullah. Fresh troops were
therefore brought up, and every outlet invested, to prevent
the possibility of escape. The cannon again played on the
crumbling towers, the scaling ladders were again raised, and
the assailants as often beaten back. At length the place was
|
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 357
aken; still the devoted Murids disputed every inch of ground
with unexampled bravery, and when all was lost, they formed
a rampart of their bodies around their beloved chief, till they
were shot or bayonetted by the exasperated soldiers, and their
bodies hurled from the battlements into the Koi-sou beneath.
Schamyl and his chief were the last who shared the fate of
their comrades, of being thrown into the river, to be devoured
by dogs or vultures. This terrible slaughter took place on the
14th of October, 1832.
The whole of Daghestan mourned over the loss of their
beloved prophet, and his heroic band of Murids; when, lo!
to the astonishment of all men, two years afterwards, Hemry,
after having declared for the new prophet, Hamsad-Bey,
was again besieged by General Lanskoi. At the very mo-
ment the garrison was about surrendering, Schamyl, at the
head of a large body of mountaineers, came to their rescue,
and turned the fortunes of the day. If the heavens had
opened, and Mahomet himself had come down in a chariot of
fire, he could not have made a greater sensation throughout
the whole of Daghestan, than did the resurrection of Schamyl
from the grave. Who could doubt but that he was invested
with a mission from God—that he was destined to be the
saviour of his country | Nor can it be wondered at that the
whole nation should elect him as their chief and prophet.
How competent he was to fill the proud position to which he
was elevated is well known, the fame of his exploits having
spread not only over the Caucasus, but the whole of Europe.
Schamyl was again lost sight of after the storming of
Akhoulga, one of the strongest fortresses in Daghestan, where
the Russians, after gaining possession, put every human being
to the sword; and as the prophet was seen giving his com-
mands, and fighting to the last, it could not be doubted but
that his career was now finished; yet at the very time when
358 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
all Daghestan was mourning his loss, and the Russians were
celebrating a Te Deum in commemoration of the death of
their terrible foe, his dreaded name again re-echoed through-
out the neighbouring province Avaria, where at the head of
15,000 Lesghians and Tchetchenens, he was destroying all the
forts they had taken so much pains to erect, and laying waste
the entire country with fire and sword, because the inhabitants
had submitted to Russia.
We do not pretend to say that the great popularity of this
very able leader is to be ascribed entirely to the mystery with
which he surrounds himself; still it has great weight with
a Superstitious people, contributes not a little to the general
prepossession in his favour, and the belief that a man who had
escaped so many perils must be the favoured of heaven, dele-
gated to fulfil a mission, which the powers of earth would
vainly seek to thwart. No doubt Schamyl, who knows his
countrymen, finds it expedient now and then to have recourse
to a coup de theatre to keep up their drooping spirits, since,
with all their perseverance and bravery, they cannot but
despair of ever seeing their country delivered from a power
that continues pouring in fresh troops in endless succession,
numerous as the sand on the sea-shore.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 359
RAZZIA OF CIRCASSIAN GUERILLAs.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Schamyl-Bey–His ability as a Ruler–His extraordinary career—The Guerilla of
the Caucasus—His Equipments—Experiness—Skill as an Equestrian—Mode
of Warfare—Difficulty of subduing the Caucasus.
If the reader examines a map, he will see that Daghestan,
the theatre of Schamyl's exploits, occupies the angle formed
by the south-eastern extremity of the Caucasian range, and
the coast of the Caspian Sea, bounded on the west by Avaria,
and on the north by Tchechnia. The general aspect of the

360 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
country, when beheld from the sea, with its rocky precipices,
denuded for the most part of trees or foliage of any kind,
impresses the traveller with the idea of great sterility; but
when he has once passed the rocky boundary, he is delighted
with the contrast in the beautiful Arcadia, he sees before him,
consisting of a succession of valleys and tiny plains, blooming
with every production of the most favoured clime; to say
nothing of the mountain plateaux, where vast quantities of
cattle, and some of the finest horses in the Caucasus, are
reared.
Several Russian officers who had penetrated into the inte-
rior of Daghestan and Avaria, informed me they had fre-
quently seen vines growing on the Sunny slopes of the hills,
whose stems were more than three feet in circumference; and
walnuts and plane-trees of the most fabulous dimensions.
They also spoke highly of the industry of the inhabitants as
husbandmen, and the ingenuity they display in their admi-
rable system of irrigation, and in the construction of bridges,
and mills, with their artificial streams. Among other produc-
tions, the silk is said to be of the very first quality, and the
wine they make would not be inferior to the Spanish, were
it not that they use skins to keep it in, instead of barrels.
This is the country over which Schamyl has exercised the
authority of a sovereign for the last twenty years, during
which time he has worn out every Russian general that has
been sent against him, from Paskewitch down to Prince Wor-
ronzow. When he commenced his career, Daghestan might
almost have been termed a Russian province; he is now not only
the lord of that country, but of Avaria, Tchechnia, and the whole
of those vast mountain districts extending to Mingrelia, Im-
meretia, and Georgia. At least, their inhabitants, if they do not
openly acknowledge his sway, may be called his allies. Nay,
he has even succeeded in establishing a compact of union
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, 361
with several of the Circassian chieftains in the interior of the
Caucasus and on the Black Sea, whose territories he occa-
sionally visits, and like his great predecessor Elijah Mansour,
preaches to them and their clansmen the necessity of union,
and war—eternal war against the great enemy of the East.
This in fact is the leading tenet in the religion of the Pro-
phet of the Caucasus, and perhaps even Mahomet himself
did not surpass him in the art of obtaining the mastery over
the minds of his followers, and moulding them to suit his
views. In addition to this, he is a skilful warrior, an elo-
quent preacher, a far-seeing statesman, fertile in resources,
and persevering in everything he undertakes, a man that
never loses an opportunity of employing his great talents in
the service of his country. Indeed, when we consider the vast
resources of the power he has to contend against, the hostility
of the many petty chieftains jealous of his authority, the
difficulty of organising the half-wild hordes that follow his
standard, and the necessity of counteracting the wily intrigues
of the various Russian agents ever seeking to effect his over-
throw, Schamyl Bey is fairly entitled to rank among the
most gifted men of any age.
Although we cannot vouch for the prowess of our hero of
Daghestan in the field being equal to that of Dschim-Bulat
Bey, the late hero of Circassia, whose single arm, according to
the Songs of the bards, was equal to a host; still, it may
truly be said, Circassia never produced so distinguished a
statesman as Schamyl Bey; nor are there any of her chief-
tains in the present day who exercise such extensive influence
over the various populations of the Caucasian isthmus. We
may therefore confidently infer that a brilliant career is still
open to this extraordinary man, in the event of France and
England carrying war into the Caucasus, since they would be
certain to find in him, and indeed in all its chicftainſ, alliès
362 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
upon whose co-operation they might safely rely, their inte-
rests being identical.
With respect to the number of men they can bring into
the field, it would be difficult to ascertain the exact amount, but
in a country where every man is armed, and where the women
frequently take the place of their lords when they are slain in
battle, their numerical strength must be great, otherwise it is
impossible they could have furnished men during such a long
continued struggle. It is true the Caucasian guerillas rarely
expose themselves in a regular pitched battle, and as they are
perfectly acquainted with the country and its localities, their
losses, compared with those of the Russians, cannot be very
great. Daghestan, with its sterile rocks and mountains,
particularly that part lying on the Caspian Sea, is by no
means equal to Circassia as a defensive position, where the
system of bush fighting is carried to the utmost perfection.
As an irregular soldier, the Caucasian guerilla has not an
equal in any country; Sober and abstemious, inured to fatigue
and privation, he rarely burdens himself when he sets out on
an expedition with any other stock of provisions than a bag
of millet (adjikha), and a leathern bottle full of skhou—a
species of sour milk. The chase procures him the rest. A
sheltered nook in the cleft of a rock serves him as a bed, and
his tehaouka, a mantle superior to anything we have in
Europe, answers all the purpose of a blanket. At the same
time, no invention as a covering for the feet surpasses his
Sandals of untanned leather, enabling him to accomplish a
long day's march with the least possible inconvenience, or to
climb with ease the steep sides of his native mountains.
All his movements are executed with marvellous rapidity,
and a cunning that nothing can surpass. Labouring under
the serious disadvantage of a scarcity of powder, every effort
is made, and every danger risked, to obtain supplies of this
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 363
indispensable material of war. Fully impressed with a sense
of its value, he never throws away a shot ; and such is the
marvellous precision of aim which constant practice has
enabled him to attain, that even at full gallop he will bring
down his enemy with unerring certainty. -
Again, the almost incredible ease, activity, and address
of this most perfect horseman in the world, on the back of
the steed, that may, in the fullest sense of the word, be said
to know its rider, must be seen to be appreciated. Not only
will this modern centaur send a ball to its destination with
fearful accuracy, at full gallop, but quick as thought he will
fling his body under the belly of his horse to avoid the fire of
his adversary, spring to the ground, and, grasping the mane
with one hand, accompany the well-trained companion of his
toils and dangers in its impetuous bounds over the rugged
surface of its native mountains, and again vault into the
saddle with the same breathless speed.
The reader may therefore picture to himself the resistless
impetuosity of a headlong charge of these flying horsemen of
the mountains, sweeping like an avalanche on some devoted
body of their country's foes beneath them,--at the same
moment making the heights around reecho with their fearful
war-cry, discharging their carbines with terrible effect on
coming to close quarters, while the stout staves of the Cossack
lances that oppose their course are severed like reeds, by the
vigorous and skilfully-directed blows of their admirably
tempered blades. They will cut their way through an entire
battalion, throw a whole column into disorder, and then as
suddenly disappear through the yawning portals of some
mountain gorge, or beneath the everlasting shadows of their
primeval forests—before the Smoke of their last volley, or
the dust raised in their wild fray, has cleared off—and before
their panic-stricken foes, in spite of their most strenuous
364 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
efforts, have been able to bring their artillery to bear on the
fierce band of guerillas, who, although coming upon them
and disappearing with the rapidity of a clap of thunder,
leave yet a fearful memento of their prowess behind them in
the scattered bodies of their enemies that everywhere cover
the ground. -
Indeed, when we consider the nature of the country,
the strength of the defiles, the warlike spirit of the people,
their continual wars with the Russians, and determination to
maintain their independence at whatever cost, we cannot won-
der that, with such training, they should be the most accom-
plished guerillas any country ever produced, nor that they
should undertake the most hazardous and romantic expedi-
tions, and rarely fail of success; for so great is their cunning
and address that no enemy can calculate on their movements,
appearing to be endowed with the attribute of ubiquity. In
addition to acting in small bodies under their respective
chiefs, they prove a constant source of disquietude, and give
perpetual occupation to whole brigades of Russian soldiers,
even within sight of their own forts; and such is their hardi-
hood, and so great their hatred of the enemy, that, when in
want of ammunition, they, will lie in wait for days in the
thickets till some unfortunate stragglers, or it may be a whole
detachment, appear in sight, when they are instantly attacked,
perhaps with bows and arrows only, and their lifeless bodies
stripped of the coveted treasure.
We have repeatedly heard Prince Worronzow-who has
always advocated a conciliatory policy in the Caucasus as the
only chance of winning over a people so wedded to their wild
independence to the rule of Russia—declare, that it would
require a force of half a million of men to subdue this warlike
people ; one half to occupy the passes that everywhere inter-
sect the country, in order to cut off the communication
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 365.
between the different chieftains, and with the remainder di-
vided in strong columns pursue the various bands of guerillas.
Even this plan, he admitted, presented great difficulties, and
might altogether fail; so inexhaustible are the natural re-
Sources of the Caucasus that its inhabitants when defeated in
the valleys and defiles, might find a refuge on those mountain
plateaux that everywhere abound, and which, being fertile,
afford at the same time a secure retreat and the finest pastures
for their flocks and herds; while they are so precipitous as to
be inaccessible except to those who are well acquainted with
their secret passes.
Again, in a country where everything is made to be trans-
ported from place to place, even to the water-mill that grinds
the corn, and where whatever could minister to the sustenance
of an army is destroyed, an invading force would be obliged
to bring with them sufficient provisions for at least six months,
together with a considerable number of mechanics and labour-
ers to erect fortresses and habitations for the troops, who must
otherwise be swept away by famine and disease.
366 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
CHAPTER XXVII.
Military discipline of the Guerillas of the Caucasus—How they are maintained—
Duties of a Chieftain—Increasing influence of Schamy! Bey in the Caucasus—
The Bivouack—The Guerilla of the Caucasus—His endurance—Abstinence—
Contrast between him and the Russian Soldiers.
HAVING now informed our readers of the tactics of the
Caucasian guerilla when in action, we shall proceed to explain
in what manner such large bodies of men can be maintained,
and what degree of discipline is preserved among them. We
, have already alluded to their abstemious habits, and to the
custom of each guerilla carrying with him as much food as
will last several days. Fire-wood is found everywhere, and
flat stones, which, when heated, serve well to bake his barley
cakes; while game is abundant, and wild turkeys and pheasants
form no bad substitute for beef and mutton.
Again, when they are engaged in the public Service, by a
convention agreed upon between the various independent
tribes, each state through which they pass is obliged to furnish
a certain amount of provisions ; and in a region where num-
bers of the finest cattle are roaming wild in the mountains,
together with vast herds of wild boars, a Circassian guerilla
is never at a loss to find a supper.
In a country where the whole of its inhabitants consider it
a high honour to carry arms, there is of course no want of
Soldiers to defend it in time of danger, Or, if necessary, to die
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 367
in its defence, especially as they believe such a death to be
a passport to heaven. At the same time they are never at
a loss for commanders or military chiefs, for should the here-
ditary chieftain of a tribe be found incompetent to lead his
clansmen to battle, the elders and inferior chieftains usually
elect the nearest relative. *
A seraskier, or commander-in-chief, is chosen by an assem-
bly of the chiefs and elders of several allied tribes. This
office invests him with the Supreme command of a district,
over which, during war, he may exercise unlimited authority.
These superior officers are allowed a certain number of aides-
de-camp, or rather messengers, whose duty it is to carry
intelligence from tribe to tribe, to take care that the passes
are guarded, that the watch-fires on the hills are ready to be
ignited, in caso it should become necessary to arouse the
whole population to arms, and a hundred other employments
indispensable in a country which, except in the depth of win-
ter, is always exposed to the ravages of war. -
The chiefs, in conjunction with the elders of each tribe,
regulate the whole of the civil and military affairs of the
community over which they preside. When a man falls in
defence of his country, his family are provided for at the
public cost, and if a village or tribe suffer from the inroads of
the enemy, their losses are reimbursed at the public expense.
Should a tribe be driven from their lands through the en-
croachments of the common enemy, Russia, or feel inclined to
unite their fate with another, as every addition to its num-
bers increases the weight and general power of a tribe, they
are gladly received, lands are assigned them, together with
flocks, herds, and everything necessary for their subsistence;
henceforth they become members of the same community,
subject to the same laws, and incurring similar penalties by
their infraction. Every tº be has its own Sacred banner, con-
368 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
fided to the care of the chiefs and elders, but which is never
unfurled except in cases of the most imminent danger, when
every man capable of bearing arms is compelled to join in the
general defence. The same imperative summons calls him into
the field, when the watch-fires are seen blazing; and such is
the admirable system carried out by this ever-vigilant people,
that each of these fires, in addition to communicating with
another, is so arranged by those to whose care the manage-
ment is entrusted, that the inhabitants instantly know from
the position of the fire, in what direction the enemy is ad-
Vancing.
Since the advent of Schamyl Bey to power, the peculiar
tactics of the Lesghians, the most scientific in their system
of guerilla warfare of all the Caucasian tribes, is gradually
gaining ground in Circassia. Still there is a great want of
unanimity among the various chieftains; those on the coast
of the Black Sea, harassed as they are with the continual in-
roads of the Russians, would gladly purchase peace even at
the expense of their liberty, were it not that they dread the
vengeance of their neighbours in the interior, who, secure in
their mountain fastnesses, defy any attempt of an enemy to
reach them. *
From the accounts of Sefir Bey, a Circassian chieftain, who
had been many years detained a prisoner en parole in Turkey,
owing to the influence of Russia, and only recently returned
to the Caucasus, we learn that during his absence, the popu-
lation, notwithstanding the war, so far from diminishing,
has considerably increased in every part of the isthmus.
This corroborates what we stated in a previous work, of the
comparatively trifling loss of life in the ranks of the guerillas
of the Caucasus, compared with that of their enemies the
Russians; whose system of bivouacking, and mode of warfare,
is altogether unsuited to a mountainous country. They are
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 369
equally brave; but the men of the north want the agility,
presence of mind, fertility of invention, and cunning, that so
eminently distinguish their clever opponents.
The Caucasian guerillas never attack in a line, but in bodies,
consisting of perhaps fifty, a hundred, or more, according to
circumstances. . After firing a discharge, they disperse; then
rally, and return again to the charge; and as they never fail
to Secure a Safe: position, the unfortunate Russians are sacri-
ficed without a chance of retaliating upon a foe who disappears
as if the ground had opened and swallowed him up. Of every
other description of warfare, they most excel in pursuit; for
should their enemy become in the least disordered in the
retreat, a detachment of these active guerillas is sufficient to
destroy an entire army in detail. If his horse should be
killed, the accident is comparatively of little moment to
a well-trained guerilla, for having the whole of his wea-
pons attached to his person, with that agility for which
he is so famous he generally succeeds in escaping every
attempt of his enemy to cut him down, and in nine cases out
of ten, he will obtain another steed at the expense of some
unlucky Russian, on whom he springs like a tiger, hurls him
to the earth, and then springing into the vacant Saddle, quick
as lightning vanishes among the woods. When in action,
nearly the whole of the chiefs wear under their clothes light
chain armour, capable of turning a Sabre cut, or a bullet,
unless perhaps fired point-blank.
One of the regulations of Schamyl in Daghestan, and which
has been now adopted by the different Seraskiers of Circassia,
is, that every chief who joins the confederated army with
five hundred men, shall be entitled to a share of whatever
plunder may be obtained in the expeditions against Russia;
which, in addition to their hatred of that power, and their
strong passion for war, has already had the effect of stimu-
B B
370 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
lating to action entire tribes, who had hitherto taken no part
in the struggle. t # -
Inured to fatigue from his infancy, and practising absti-
nence as a religious tenet, the guerilla of the Caucasus has an
immense advantage in his physical constitution over the
vodka-drinking soldier of Russia, so badly provisioned, and so
little cared for by his officers or the government. In addition
to his other good qualities, this hardy denizen of the moun-
tain is able to anticipate the changes in the weather with
unerring accuracy, drawing his conclusions from every object
of nature, animate and inanimate;—the butterfly sporting in
the air, or the grasshopper gambolling in the meadow, even
the flowers that enamel the fields tell him, in language which
never deceives, whether he may look forward to a wet, or a
bright sunny, day; while the colour, denseness, and extent of
the mist that wreathes the mountain, informs him of the
degree of rain and wind to be expected.
. The preparations these provident people make to guard
against the effects of an approaching storm are both novel and
interesting to the European, and might be adopted with ad-
vantage by the troops of every nation. On the first threat of
the angry elements they immediately make preparations to
erect their simple tents. They commence by cutting some
strong branches, which are used as poles; over these is spread
felt or mats—for a Circassian never leaves home without these
indispensable necessaries in a mountainous region, thinly
inhabited, and where it frequently happens that the finest
weather is succeeded in a few minutes by an overwhelming
tempest. The thick felt used for covering the tents appears
to be a substance admirably adapted for the purpose, while
the mats with which the inside is hung, made from a species
of grass, are also waterproof, and very ingeniously manu-
factured; and such is the celerity with which these tents are
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 371
constructed that, after the poles are fixed in the earth, to
suspend the covering over them and tie the cords to the root
of a tree is only the work of a few minutes. The tents of
the chieftains, or those more fastidious in their taste, are
usually composed of several pieces of felt, and when these are
furnished with a carpet, and a chimney to carry away the
smoke, they form by no means an indifferent dwelling. f
Again, if we take into consideration the waterproof texture
of the Caucasian tehaouka, a cloak made from a mixture of
long sheep's wool and goat's hair, there is no soldier better
provided, so far as clothing is concerned, with the means of
supporting the vicissitudes of a guerilla campaign. Here he
may sit, enveloped in his cloak and sheltered beneath his
tent, and bid defiance to the elements; while the unfortunate
Russian soldier, in his flimsy jacket, linen trowsers, thread-
bare surtout, and with no other retreat from the tempest than
his canvas tent, (if indeed his government is so considerate
as to provide him with one,) is certain to be invalided after a
few summers' campaign, for the moist and heated atmosphere
of the Caucasian valleys becomes so charged with miasma after
heavy rains, that no man, however robust, can withstand its
effects without using the precautions adopted by the natives.
The Russian soldier also, having his best energies chilled by
living beneath a system of despotism and slavery, wants the
elasticity of spirit and independence of action so visible in
the movements of the Caucasian mountaineer, where every
defile, towering cliff, and snow-clad alp reminds him of the
strength of his mountain home, and imparts a courage and a
manliness to his every action. Unconquered and unconquer-
able, he believes himself superior to the whole human race;
and truly, when he contrasts his own wild freedom, the Secu-
rity he enjoys in the undisturbed patrimony of his ancestors,
with the servile condition of his neighbour, the degraded serf
372 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
of Russia, it is natural that he should regulate his opinion of
every other people by the same standard. Nay, a simple
chieftain, at the head of a few thousand followers, considers
himself superior to the Autocrat of all the Russias, because he
marches to the field of battle with his clansmen, and never
deserts them in victory or defeat, valour being, in his opinion
and that of his followers, the essence of all that is great and
noble in human nature. It must therefore be evident how
hopeless it is to contend with a people actuated by such
feelings, and inhabiting the strongest country in the world,
which may without any figure of speech be termed a vast
natural fortress. Some travellers, who have never seen the
Caucasus, pretend to compare it to Algiers, whereas, in point
of fact, there exists not the slightest similarity between them,
except that the inhabitants of both are attached to their
country and prepared to assert its independence. We may
therefore rest assured that if Russia could not subdue them,
either by intrigue or force of arms, no other power in Europe
or Asia has a chance of success. A conciliatory policy, based
on commercial pursuits and mutual interests, similar to that
practised by the ancient Greeks, and at a later period by the
Genoese, would no doubt have the effect of winning them
over to the habits and usages of civilised life; but force and
compulsion never will accomplish it; and now that the Black
Sea is open to the fleets of the world, we trust that this policy
will be pursued by France and England.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 373
CHAPTER XXVIII.
General view of the Caucasus—Its productions—Articles of Commerce–System of
Agriculture—Mills—Granaries—Industry of the people—Superior breed of
horses—Sketch of the natural history of the Caucasus.
THE representations made by the hireling writers of Russia,
that a Circassian is a professional robber—a sort of Ishmael,
whose hand will be against every man, and every man's hand
against him, is most wilfully erroneous, and will be found so,
when the Caucasus is opened to the research of our travellers
from the West. We can, however, state, in contradiction to
this, that from whatever country you enter Circassia, whether
Turkey, Persia, or Russia, you are agreeably impressed with
the decided improvement in the appearance of the population,
their agriculture, and the beauty of their flocks and herds.
The tiny cottages of the villagers also, however insignificant,
are neat and cleanly, and being generally seated on the banks
of a river or some murmuring rivulet, or clustering around
the base of a hill sheltered by the finest foliage, contribute
not a little to impart to the landscape an aspect of rural
beauty; while the romantic character of every surrounding
object veils a thousand imperfections that in less favoured
situations would obtrude themselves.
Indeed the respect for private property and individual
rights evinced by the Circassians, particularly when we
374 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
remember that they are still, in a manner, a semi-barbarous
people, is one of the most admirable traits in the national
character. In all their various transactions with each other,
justice is as rigidly respected as in any part of civilised
Europe; and the laws established by ancient custom are
administered by their chiefs and elders with the strictest
impartiality. We may therefore be assured that most of the
accounts we have heard prejudicial to the character of this
people cannot be relied upon. That they do not keep faith
with an enemy, at least with Russia, is a fact, and that they
have their own private feuds—tribe against tribe—is also
true; still the appearance of their common enemy is at any
time sufficient to reconcile all parties, indeed, were it not
so, they would have been long since the serfs of Russia.
If we view the Caucasus generally, we must pronounce it
to be one of the finest countries in the world; the climate is
equal to that of Italy, while Switzerland does not surpass it
in the sublimity of its alps or the majestic grandeur of its
scenery; and though it does not possess those romantic lakes
which form such a delightful feature in the landscapes of some
mountain countries, we have, as a compensation, a splendid
view of either the Black Sea or the Caspian, from nearly
every mountain we ascend. -
In the valleys and plains, the soil, like that of the low lands
in Mingrelia, the ancient Colchis, is extremely rich, and
adapted to every species of grain, and also to the cultivation
of tobacco, cotton, rice, and even indigo. The saffron, of the
same species as the crocus Ang, but superior in strength,
grows everywhere wild, and the plants of the green-houses of
England are the common flowers of the field. The aspect of
these elevated ridges, rising to a height of seven or eight
thousand feet, vernal to the summit, is beautiful beyond
description, shadowed, as they are, with the wide-spreading
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 375
forest trees of every species; we see the rarest and most beau-
tiful shrubs,-forming a luxuriant picture rarely seen out of
the Caucasus. Even the sea-coast is rich in the most inter-
esting marine plants, such as the chenopodium maritimum,
the artemisia, statice limonium, atriplex laciniata, amaranthus
Blitum, crambe orientalis, and a hundred others, equally rare
and interesting. We also everywhere find the statice Coriaria,
together with the gall-nut, which also abounds. These, with
the valona, the shumach, and the bark of the white birch, are
sought with avidity by the tanners of Turkey and Persia;
and when once introduced into Europe are calculated to effect
a revolution in the art of tanning. The valuable white birch
of the Caucasus also produces the famous oil with which the
Turks succeed so well in giving to their leather that peculiar
glove-like softness which none of our tanners in Europe have
been able to accomplish. They extract it from the inside rind
of the tree. It is also said to excel every other medicine yet
known, for the cure of wounds, and to be the celebrated
balsam used by Sultan Saladin during the wars of the
Crusaders.
Independently of the number of rare plants so interesting
to the botanist, those adapted to culinary purposes are very
numerous: this will be understood when we say that the
common vegetables of our garden are seen growing wild in
the valleys, together with gourds and water-melons; and if
we ascend to the summit of the mountains, or wander on the
Sunny slopes, we shall see the wild currant and the cranberry,
with tiny forests of bilberries, and strawberries, and whortle-
berries, all in the highest perfection. In addition to the mul-
berry and the chestnut, the olive and the pomegranate, and
indeed the whole of the fruit trees found in a favoured clime,
the vine loaded with the clustering grape is always seen the
most prominent and the most luxuriant production, in this
*
376 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
land of nature; while the juniper, the yew, and the box are
seen rising to such a height, that they may well be numbered
among the giants of a Caucasian forest. Perhaps of every
other tree in these primeval forests, the linden, in its con-
nexion with rural economy, is the most valuable to the inha-
bitants: the wood is preferred to every other for building
their little huts, and for making their furniture; cords and
matting are made from its inner rind; and from its blossoms
the bees extract that peculiar green aromatic honey, es-
teemed such a delicacy, that the table of a Circassian or of
a wealthy family in Turkey is never without it. The common
rhododendron, the rhododendron Caucasium, and the azalea
Tºontica, are also seen in vast quantities; and as the commerce
of the mountaineers is principally confined, since the war
with Russia, to the produce of their bees, the blossoms of
these plants are much valued, because they impart to the
honey that singular intoxicating quality noticed by all the
early writers on the Caucasus, and by Xenophon and Strabo.
In the present day, the Tchernemorsky Cossacks and the
Russian soldiers evince for it so strong a predilection, pre-
ferring it to every other species of liquor, that they will not
hesitate to barter their powder to obtain it. The wild honey
found in the clefts of the rocks, a favourite article with the
Circassian in his guerilla expeditions, is peculiar from its
spicy taste and hardness, as also for its not becoming impaired
or losing its flavour by keeping.
The vine, which may be said to have its true home in the
Caucasus, is cultivated with great care, and produces a very
tolerable wine, not unlike those of Naples and Sicily. There
is also another wine made from the wild grape, but this is
only used, on account of its spirituous nature, to mix with
the wine made from cultivated grapes. In addition to the
great fertility of the soil, and the varied productions of a
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 377
country where we see cotton, flax, and hemp growing wild on
the prairies, the forests alone could supply timber for a very
extensive commerce. At present, owing to the war with
Russia, agriculture is entirely neglected, the inhabitants
merely contenting themselves with cultivating as much grain
as will serve for their own subsistence.
The inhabitants of the Caucasus, so long isolated from the
great World, are perhaps the most original of any people in
their habits and customs. Their cars, in form, might be
similar to those of King Priam of Troy; but as all classes of
the population travel on horseback, they are only used for
transporting the harvest. Their mills for grinding corn are
equally primitive, being situated under the earth with a wheel
at the top, which is turned by a horse; hence, the man who
brings corn to the mill must also bring a horso to turn the
wheel; and, as there is no money in circulation, he pays the
owner for the use of his mill in grain. The lighter, seeds,
such as millet, the favourite food of the whole population, is
ground at home with the common hand-mill. Their manner
of threshing is the same as that of the Israelites in the time
of Moses; and like that people, in strict accordance with the
commands of their great legislator, the husbandman never
fails to leave a little uncut corn for the purpose of feeding
the fowls of the air. They display, however, considerable
ingenuity, tact, and foresight in the arrangement of their
granaries, which serve not only to protect the grain for years
from damp and vermin, but effectually conceal it from the
rapacity of an enemy. * -
For this purpose a pit is dug in the earth of such a size as
may be required, the mouth being only sufficiently wide to
allow a man to enter. After a fire has rendered it perfectly
dry, charred boards are placed at the bottom, round the sides,
and on the top, to protect the corn from damp. The top is
378 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
made perfectly air-tight with a species of tenacious clay, over
which turf is placed—the grass grows, consequently it is im-
possible for any man, Save he who buried it, to find out the
spot where the treasure lies concealed; so that an enemy may
be encamped on the very ground which contains abundance,
and yet be starving for the want of provisions.
The rearing of flocks and herds is the principal occupation,
and in which all classes of the population take the greatest
interest,--a species of property the more valuable on account
of the facility it offers of being carried to some secure retreat
in the mountains. Great attention is bestowed on breeding
horses, and perhaps no people, not even the Arab of the
desert, understands better how to manage them, or is more
attentive to their treatment. Each race has its own peculiar
mark branded on the haunch; the most celebrated, termed
Schalokh, is preserved in all its purity by a Tatar prince, re-
siding with his clansmen in some isolated district of the Alps;
he is known by the name of the Tau-Sultan, and said to be
a descendant of Tamerlane. A horse-shoe is the mark by
which this splendid race is known in the Caucasus, which for
beauty of form, strength of limb, and fleetness, cannot be sur-
passed. They more resemble the English racer than the
Arabian, and command the most extravagant prices in Turkey,
Persia, and Russia. With respect to their powers of en-
durance, docility and intelligence, the most extraordinary tales
are related in the Caucasus.
The horse is the especial favourite of every Caucasian ; he
is trained to endure hunger and fatigue, to swim, to under-
stand what is said to him, and all the other accomplishments
and qualifications requisite in the four-footed companion of a
guerilla. The great Secret appears to be kindness; he is never
beaten, consequently his spirit remains unbroken, and his
affection for his master undiminished. Nothing can be more
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA, 379
simple than their method of breaking in a horse: he is first
secured with the lasso, a feat of no common danger, for they
generally roam half wild through the woods,--then blind-
folded, and pulled about up hill and down dale, till they are
completely subdued. Those that are brought up in the farm-
yard, where they may be seen as the playmates of children,
take to the Saddle almost without its being necessary to have
recourse to any violence. a f
Game is every where abundant in the Caucasus. The wild
turkey, the pheasant, cock of the wood, and the bustard, are
splendid birds; the Caucasian partridge, about the size of an
ordinary capon, although resembling in form that of Europe,
might almost be termed a different species. Swans, black and
white, wild geese, and every description of aquatic bird, haunt
in vast numbers the rivers and marshes. . The wild boar, the
stag, roebuck, and deer, with porcupines and hares of pro-
digious size, are everywhere met with. Of the wild animals,
the jackal is the most numerous; he is about the size of a
fox-hound, with a fine bushy tail, lank, sharp-headed, and
exceedingly swift of foot —a stray tiger is sometimes found;
bears and wolves are not so numerous as might be expected;
and with the exception of the scolopendra morsitans, and the
black snake, there is scarcely any reptile to be dreaded in the
country. The wolf, the vulture, and the eagle, are the only
enemies the shepherd has to contend against; the latter attains
a prodigious size. The Suroke, Suslik, and jerboa abound here,
as in the steppes of Krim-Tatary. There are also various
species of moles; that called the slepez is large, with a head
flat and broad, like an otter; and although so small an animal,
yet with its formidable tusks, and a courage that nothing can
arrest, it becomes a dangerous foe, particularly when met
with marching in numbers, which is generally their custom
when they set out on an expedition,
380 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
The land-tortoise is very numerous in this land of nature,
as is the pretty curled-tail lizard, so rare in most countries;
and we believe that the Caucasian raven, with its dark
red legs and scarlet bill, is unique of its kind. Trout and
Salmon-trout, shad, perch, pike, and every other species of
the finny tribe peculiar to a mountain stream, are also
found in the greatest profusion, and of the most delicious
flavour.
The Alpine region abounds with chamois, wild goats, and
a species of wild sheep. Of the goats there are two kinds,
the well-known ibex, and the other which roves about in
herds, somewhat resembling the European goat, but much
larger and better shaped, with limbs as fine as a deer. The
flesh is much esteemed, and the skin, when prepared with
the fine long hair, is used to kneel on, a superstitious idea
being connected with it, that their petitions will then be re-
sponded to by the Great Spirit. These interesting animals,
called by the mountaineers Turi, form themselves into dif-
ferent communities, under the guidance of a leader, who dis-
plays in his arrangements for their Safety the most surprising
Sagacity. Sentinels are ever on the watch, and as they never
graze without turning their face to the wind, their quickness
of hearing and smell render it almost impossible to approach
them ; the slightest rustle in the brushwood is sufficient to
alarm the whole troop, when they fly with the rapidity of an
arrow to the summit of some inaccessible cliff; and should a
bird of prey or ferocious beast attack one of their companions,
the whole herd flies to his rescue, and being armed with long
curved horns they often prove more than a match for their
antagonist. Sometimes, however, when hard pressed by the
hunter, which obliges them to make some tremendous leap,
the young and the weakly, unable to accomplish the feat, fall
victims to the temerity of their leader.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 381
The wild sheep are much smaller than the domestic breed,
and as agile as a goat ; they are believed by the Russians to
be a remnant of the Caucasian sheep, described by the ancient
Greek and Roman writers, and very valuable for their fleece,
which is generally a bright yellow, though sometimes black,
preserving the natural colour in defiance of the influence of
time.
382 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
' CHAPTER, XXIX.
The Circassians—Their Religion—Sacred groves—Religious observances—Primitive
manners of the people—Their administration of justice—Code of Laws—Bards of
the Caucasus—Historical records preserved in their traditions—Similarity be-
tween the Circassians and the Spartans in their manners and code of laws.
THE religion of the Circassians, like that of nearly the whole
of the inhabitants of the Caucasus, with the exception of the
Lesghians, who may be called the reformers of Mahometanism,
is a compound of Judaism, Christianity, and Islamism ; they
worship only one God, as the giver of all good. Certain
spirits, however, like the saints of the Catholic Church, come
in for their due share of reverence on account of their sup-
posed mediatorial powers. In common with the true fol-
lowers of Mahomet, they deny the divine mission of our
Saviour; and are also acquainted with the character of Moses
as a lawgiver, together with that of Elijah as a prophet, with
whose miraculous ascent to heaven in a chariot of fire they
are perfectly familiar; and, singular to say, they celebrate
the Lord's day in preference to the Jewish or Mahometan
Sabbath.
In spring they observe a fast of seven, and in summer one
of nine weeks; and, like the Jews, keep the feast of the Pass-
over ; while on the other hand, their marriages, burials, and
births are attended with nearly the same ceremonies as among
the Mahometans; they do not, however, in common with the
other professors of that creed, abstain from swine's flesh.
Still we must here remark that most of the Circassian
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 383
chieftains and heads of clans, especially those on the coast
of the Black Sea, observe most of the external rites of
Islamism. $
We cannot conclude our sketch of the religious observances
of these interesting and primitive people, without alluding to
their sacred groves, carrying us back as they do to a period
of the most remote antiquity, anterior to the existence of
any creed, save the simple worship of the Almighty by the
first cultivators of the soil and guardians of flocks and herds,
who, amidst the awful solitude of primeval nature, poured
forth their thanks to the Author of their being beneath the
leafy shadows of that living temple reared by his own Divine
hand. At the same time, the rites and ceremonies practised
at the immolation of any victim, whether, on ordinary occa-
sions, that of a sheep, a kid, or a goat, or an ox at periods of
great Solemnity and general thanksgiving, are evidently relics
of similar heathen observances, recalling as they do the days
of Dodonian Jupiter, and corresponding with the many
graphic descriptions of like ceremonies to be met with in the
pages of Homer.
On the eve of departure for any warlike expedition, the
warriors of the Caucasus are accustomed to repair to their
sacred groves for the purpose of performing propitiatory
sacrifices, as well as various other rites and ceremonies; the
most venerable and illustrious of their patriarchs taking a
sword strikes it against the Sacred Oak, at the same time ex-
horting the assembling multitude to contend with unflinching
zeal and perseverance against the enemy they are about to
encounter. Then addressing the oak, he says— *
“Sacred tree, thou hast witnessed from time immemorial
the performance of this ceremony by our fathers. They have
conquered. May their blessed spirits hover over us their
children, and guide our swords to victory!”
384 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
If the attack is directed against the Russians, he concludes
by saying— -
“Remember, the man that falls in this contest is imme-
diately translated to paradise.”
To cut down a tree in these sacred groves, or despoil them
of their offerings—for every warrior appropriates to himself
a tree which he adorns with some trophy of his victories, or
offering of gratitude to the Divinity for some blessing
received—is considered a sacrilege, and punishable with
death. In addition to these sacred groves, certain springs
are highly venerated, and to cut down a tree in their vici-
nity, or pollute them, is also a sacrilege.
Among their other religious festivals none is regarded with
greater reverence than one celebrated about the time of our
Easter. The pomp with which it is observed, and the attendant
rejoicings, would seem to indicate that it is a relic of Chris-
tianity;-this is the more probable, as we frequently See a
cross erected in some prominent part of their sacred groves.
The March moon is ushered in with a fast, which is rigidly
kept till the end, when at early dawn, on the first day
of the new moon, the sound of fire-arms from the dwellings
of the principal inhabitants of the village, announces the
commencement of festivities. All classes then hasten to the
Sacred Grove, and the usual religious rites are performed,
together with the sacrifice of an additional number of
animals, when the rejoicings terminate with the shooting at
eggs, and various other martial sports and pastimes peculiar
to this people.
The feast of the first-fruits of the harvest is also one of
great importance, and continues several days, during which
time visits are interchanged among the different tribes, each
family giving a separate entertainment. The principal dish
on every occasion being wheat dressed in various forms, as
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 385
typical of the abundant gifts of nature, the celebration of
which is the object of the festival. It is generally cut before
ripe, roasted and eaten with skhou, together with various other
species of grain and fruits. Those persons who are prevented
from sickness or other causes from attending the festival,
never fail to have their portion sent to them, as it is con-
sidered most unlucky not to partake of a portion of the
blessings of earth on these festive and sacred occasions. The
ceremonies observed at this season of the year, terminate with
thanksgivings to the merciful Power who has so abundantly
provided for all their necessities.
The sacred groves of the Circassians derive additional
interest from the fact of their being the scene of the judicial
proceedings of this interesting people, fulfilling the double
office of a temple of public worship and a court of justice.
The Circassian code of laws, although based on the prin-
ciple of retaliation, is not distinguished for ferocity. The
man accused of shedding the blood of his fellow, is here
arraigned before a public assembly of the elders, chieftains,
and lawgivers of the land, pleaders are heard on both sides,
and sentence pronounced with the most impartial justice, no.
man being condemned until a full statement of the facts on
both sides has been listened to, or without the unanimous.
decision of all the authorities present. The law of the land
in the case of murder Sanctions the exaction of blood for
blood, it also considers the claims of justice satisfied by the
payment of a heavy fine as a compensation to the friends of
the deceased, which indeed is the sentence most commonly
carried into effect in regard to this and all minor crimes.
Should, however, the resources of the accused be inadequate
to the demand, and the claim be rigidly enforced, he is sold as
a slave, and for ever exiled from his native country—an outlaw
who may be shot by the first man that meets with him,
without fear of punishment.
C C
386 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
The Scene presented in these Sacred groves on every occa-
sion of this kind, whether it be an assembly of justice or a
vast deliberative council of the people, convoked to discuss
some subject of general importance and interest, is one of the
most strikingly romantic and spirit-stirring that can be con-
ceived; and, like the religious observances already described,
presents us with a vivid picture of the earliest days of the
world’s history. Seated beneath the murmuring shade of
those giants of the forest, that have seen generation after
generation of the children of men fall Tike the leaves of
autumn at their feet, we behold the patriarch and elders
of the different tribes in their ample robes, their flowing
beards and hoary locks uncovered to the breeze, adding to
their venerable appearance ; prepared to give the benefit of
their matured experience and long acquaintance with the
world on all occasions of public danger or excitement. While
seated, in every direction on the velvet sward of these virgin
forests, their steeds tethered to the trunks, and their arms
suspended from the boughs of the nearest tree, may be seen
the different chiefs and heads of clans surrounded by their
retainers, all striving, on every public assemblage of this
nature, to outvie with each other in the splendour of their
costume and general equipment. At the same time the woods
around are alive with others galloping on their fiery coursers
to the place of meeting, awaking the sylvan echoes with the
clash of arms and the clatter of a thousand hoofs; the Sun-
light streaming through the thick masses of intervening
foliage, and flashing on their chain armour, jewelled weapons,
and gorgeous housing, presenting altogether a picture of
feudal pomp and semi-barbaric splendour, in our day perhaps
unrivalled in any other part of the world.
In the midst, however, of all this martial din and confusion,
let but one of the elders rise to address the assembled mul-
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 387
titude of fiery and tempestuous spirits, and all is at once
hushed into the deepest silence, and his words listened to with
the profoundest veneration and attention. How calculated
must a scene of this kind be to impress the mind and excite
the feelings of these unsophisticated children of nature, while
listening to the words of advice and encouragement from the
lips of those whose heads have grown grey in the service of
their country, and whose strong right arm once led their
followers to victory, and now calling on their sons and
grandsons to be worthy of their sires At the same time
often concluding their address by calling on the overarching
woods to witness that the fire of patriotism has not slackened
in their bosoms, nor the love of liberty, and the heroic
determination to defend their mountain home from the
ruthless invader, lost any of their intensity of feeling, since
the days when their fathers’ fathers assembled in like manner,
and on similar occasions beneath their eternal shadows.
Next to the chieftains and elders of the land, the wandering
bard holds the highest station in the esteem of the people ;
every house is proud to receive him, every chieftain of what-
ever clan is his patron. His sweet strains cheer every festive
board, his warlike song animates the hero in the camp and the
field,—in his legendary ballads he perpetuates the history
of his country, while by singing the passing events of the
day, he fulfils the office of the independent press of more
civilized communities, for he never fails to reprove the traitor
and the coward, nor to expose the crimes of those who violate
the laws of society. At the same time he conveys to distant
tribes intelligence, which otherwise never could have been
transmitted in a country without literature, or any of the
methods of communication common to 'civilized countries;
and by chanting the warlike deeds of some heroic chieftain
he excites the emulation of his hearers to rival them.
388. TURKEY, RUSSIA,
The arrival of one of these errant poets in a hamlet, whose
fame may have preceded him, is an event in the lives of its
simple inhabitants; for so great is the delight felt among a .
people destitute of letters in listening to the tale of the story-
teller, and the song of the bard, and in such universal esteem.
and honour are they held, that the wealthiest and most
powerful chieftains of the land vie with each other in
endeavouring to retain them as long as possible beneath their
roof, and in tendering them the most unbounded hospitality.
As a reward of so much kindness, the bards tell of the warlike
deeds of the great Circassian chieftains, of the numerous battles
gained over the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans, the
Tatars, the Turks and the Russians, in short over all the
enemies of the Caucasus from time immemorial, of the fair
daughters of Circassia, the fame of whose charms has spread
to the ends of the earth, of the renown, wisdom, and valour
of the great Caucasian warriors of former days.
It is therefore in the songs of these bards that we must look
for any traditionary fragments tending to elucidate the early
history and origin of the races whose deeds they celebrate,
many of whom doubtless sought a refuge in those inaccessible
mountains on the destruction of the various great Asiatic
dynasties. Although veiled in some degree in the guise of
fable and tradition, they are as well acquainted with the down-
fall of the Assyrian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires, as
we are ourselves, together with the history of Mahomet, the
inroads of the Tatars, the rise of the Turkish power, the fall;
of the Byzantine, empire, in short with all the important
events connected with Eastern history up to the present time.
We cannot but admire, the strong sense of justice and
public and private virtue exhibited by the various races.
inhabiting the Caucasus, more especially the Circassians,
when we recollect that isolated as they have been from the
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 389
rest of the world, at the same time enjoying collectively
and individually the most unbounded freedom, possessing
ºno code of laws, save their own good Sense and oral
tradition, they still continue to maintain that social order and
respect for established authority necessary to the well-being
of every community. e -
When we consider many of the customs and usages which
have been observed from the remotest times among this
primitive people, we are forcibly reminded of those practised
by that most warlike of the peoples of Ancient Greece, the
Spartans. In comparing them, we are almost tempted to
believe that their great lawgiver, Lycurgus, derived the first
ideas of the stern code he enforced among his countrymen,
from intercourse with the Caucasian races. In fact, the
accounts left us by the historians of Greece of the education
of the Spartan youth, together with the military training
and discipline—the rigid observances of established law, and
the self-denying habits of sobriety and abstinence enforced
by the Spartan lawgiver, might almost apply to the
Circassians of the present day, as will be evident from the
following sketch of the career of a Caucasian warrior.
At his birth the infant mountaineer is presented with
a bow and a quiver of arrows, as symbolical of his future
destiny; an amulet is also bound on some part of his body to
secure him from witchcraft and the evil eye. -
After the first few years of helpless infancy have passed
over, he is taken from the mother and consigned to the care
of some warrior famous for his skill in the military exercises
of his country, who now performs to the young mountaineer
the duties of a parent, bearing the title of Attalick, and
during the whole time the youth remains under the super-
intendence of his teacher, he is never permitted to visit his
390 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
parents, lest he should be spoiled by indulgence, or enervated
by excessive affection.
As the Circassians are entirely ignorant of letters, his
education is confined to every species of gymnastic exercise
that can contribute to give force and agility to the frame.
He is taught, in addition to riding and swimming, the most
expert method of using every warlike weapon ; he also
studies eloquence that he may distinguish himself as an
orator in the national assemblies of his country ; and to
complete his studies, he is instructed in the art of thieving
with adroitness, that he may spoil the enemies of his
country.
When the youth is considered to have attained a sufficient
proficiency in these accomplishments, he is conducted to the
house of his parents in triumph, and a splendid banquet is
given. The friends and relations are invited—the youth
exhibits his acquirements—his Attalick is complimented,
not only with words, but more substantial offerings of gra-
titude, and ever afterwards enjoys the highest consideration
in the family. A reciprocal affection exists between him
and his pupil through life, so that a young Circassian warrior
may be said to be doubly guarded with parental care.
The lessons of abstinence and self-denial taught him in
early youth are never forgotten in after-life; whether at
home or in the field, whatever he eats is of the plainest
description, and small in quantity; and during his guerilla
campaigns he seldom drinks even water, although exposed to
a burning sun, till he rests for the evening, thus practising
literally the Arabian proverb, “the more a man drinks the
greater will be his thirst.” Yet a hardier race than these
mountaineers does not exist, and if their frames are slender,
whatever deficiency there may be in strength, is more than
compensated by their surprising activity. Add to which
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. * 391
they have the advantage of retaining the vigour of their
limbs, the fire of their eyes and their intellect to the
extreme verge of life.
The great simplicity of their food during a campaign tends,
no doubt, to preserve them from those diseases that make
such fearful havoc in the ranks of the Russian soldiers in
the Caucasus. Their favourite drink, as we before observed,
is skhou,” without which, and a supply of millet, a Circassian
never leaves home; and as flint and steel form an indis-
pensable part of his travelling apparatus, he is never at a loss
for a meal, even in the most desolate regions.
In these and everything connected with the habits, man-
ners and customs of this very original people, we see the same
warlike spirit, love of country, and contempt of danger, that
distinguished the warriors of Greece and Troy during the
heroic period of their history; the same hospitalities practised
towards each other and the stranger who may have some
influential chieftain as a surety that he is not an enemy in
disguise; the same simplicity and patriarchal virtues;—all
of which render them so interesting to a European, and take
away from them every semblance of semi-barbarism; and
however lightly they may regard faith and honesty in their
* Whence the shou, to which we have so frequently alluded, had its origin is a
matter of great contention among the people of the east. The Turks and Tatars
who call it yaourte, say in accordance with their traditions the Almighty himself
revealed the knowledge of its use to Abraham, who transmitted the art of preparing
it to posterity, while the Circassians and the Arabs contend that Hagar when driven
from the house of her lord, and fainting with heat and thirst in the desert, was
presented by angels with the cup of Oriental nectar, from which time it has been
preserved to the present day as a corrective to the milk, which it preserves during
the hottest weather in a fit state for drinking. Tresh milk is rarely or never used
by the Circassians, or indeed any other eastern people, being considered unwhole-
some and certain to generate fevers. Hence they boil it morning and evening, and
when cool mix with it a little of the old skhou; in three or four hours it becomes
thick and fit for use, and when flavoured with a little rose-water and sugar, is a
most grateful and refreshing drink. . . . .
392 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
dealings with such an enemy as Russia, or however ruthlessly
slaughter her soldiers on the field of battle, or entrap them by
treacherous ambuscades, kindness and all the charities of
social life characterise their conduct towards each other.
Perhaps one of the most interesting and commendable
traits in the character of the tribes of the Caucasus is the
respect and veneration with which they invariably regard
the aged patriarch,-his counsels are sought to the extreme
verge of life—his decision bowed to, if he speaks he is
listened to in profound silence, and wherever he moves a way
is opened to him—all seek to render him happy, and to be
numbered among those who have received his blessing.
Must we not, then, admire the degree of civilization and
morality to which this isolated people have attained, and that
without any written law, any other guide, than the traditions
of their fathers and the songs of their bards' We must
equally commend the docility with which they conform to the
established usages of social life in a country where there is no
police—no house of correction—no other check upon the evil
tendencies of human nature than the stern reproof of their
elders, the dread of fine and banishment : since, as we before
observed, every crime can be atoned for by paying for it; yet
murder is nearly unknown, robbery, and petty thefts by no
means frequent among the allied tribes. Indeed we have
in the Caucasus the singular spectacle of a people preserving
unchanged, from time immemorial, their own peculiar system
of government, while all the great nations around them Sank
into slavery; and what is equally remarkable, no individual
chieftain has ever succeeded in bringing the whole under his
immediate authority. This circumstance has no doubt
enabled Russia to extend her influence, and in some instances
her rule over so many districts of the Caucasus, which she
never could have done had these tribes been united under
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 393
the rule of a chieftain possessed of the talents and energy of
Schamyl-Bey, the hero of Daghestan. To this serious obsta-
cle to the collective strength of a people we must add that
the various races speak a different language, and are only
able to communicate with each other through the medium
of their Tatar brethren, and to increase the difficulty, that
language is only known to their chiefs and elders.
Yet, in spite of all these disadvantages, and unprovided
with a sufficient supply of ammunition, they have not only
taxed severely the military resources of the Russian empire
for the last thirty years, but carried offensive warfare into the
camp of their enemy and across the frontier. It is scarcely
necessary to say what a valuable ally we shall here find to
aid, by their bravery, the great cause of European civilization,
for our interests are identical. In short, we have only to
furnish them with ammunition and a few experienced officers
to teach them the use of the Minié rifle, to form a barrier
against any further encroachment of Russia in this quarter of
the World. But we must not hesitate,_if the present opportu-
nity be lost, it may pass away never to return. Without hope,
all strength, moral as well as physical, avails nothing, and
however successful these brave mountaineers may have been
up to the present time in defending their country's indepe-
pendence against the aggressions of so formidable a power, the
consciousness of utter abandonment, should the present crisis
lead to a peaceful solution, and their interests be forgotten,
may have the effect of paralysing their future efforts, and
lead to their final fall. And truly no man, who is in the
slightest degree acquainted with the Caucasian Isthmus, but
must be aware that so long as that stronghold remains
independent of Russia, every attempt to extend her dominions
in Asia would be fruitless.
394 - TURKEY, RUSSIA,
CHAPTER XXX.
Russia considered as a military power—Political importance of the Caucasian
Isthmus–Suggestions respecting the meditated invasion of India–How to
prevent it—General view of the Caucasian provinces–Concluding remarks.
AT length, after all the efforts of diplomacy to main-
tain the peace of the world have been exhausted, we find
ourselves actually at war with Russia, that great stum-
bling-block to the progress of mankind. Truly we must
believe that a more than human agency is at work in thus
bringing about a collision between civilization and barbarism,
and which must effect an entire change in the destiny of
millions of our fellow men. As the great bulwark in our
hemisphere against the inroads of despotism, if we fulfil in
a manner worthy the first maritime power in the world, the
glorious mission entrusted to us by Providence, the issue
cannot be doubtful, the only thing which shades the picture
is the blood that must be shed.
We must not, however, deceive ourselves by believing that
the barbarian of the north will be easily subdued. In all our
previous wars, we had to contend with the ambition of
some powerful state, now we have to combat not only
opinions, but a large section of the human race bound .
together by the ties of kindred, language, and one common
creed, complete fanatics, and impressed with the belief that
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 395
they are destined by a higher power to rule the world; and
what adds still more to the danger and the difficulties of the
crisis, is the certainty that the whole of the despotic princes of
Europe are allied in principle, and in some cases by interest,
to the same power, and who must regard the fall of the Auto-
crat of the North as the herald of their own doom. Hence,
it is evident that we have not only Russia as an enemy, but
what is still more to be dreaded, a coalition of these despotic
princes to combat, in the event of which the contest would
at Once assume the character of a war of principle, and we
should see the whole of Europe in a blaze; for we may be
assured, with the exception of our gallant neighbours, the
French, all the continental states are more or less controlled
by Russian influence.
The real fact is this, we have remained too long quiet.
We have allowed ourselves to be too long swayed by
the political quackeries of a peace congress—the same
time-serving money-lending influence that has ruined every
great empire down to the present day. Happily, the power
of England, notwithstanding the errors of the past, is tre-
mendous, both morally and physically, and how to employ
it so as to protect our own interests is the great question
at the present moment. Of one thing we may be certain,
that a power so subtle and so eminent for its prudence
and foresight as Russia, would never have undertaken the
dangerous enterprise she has commenced without first ascer-
taining that she could hardly fail to succeed. Nor can we
believe she would have dared a collision with two such for-
midable empires as France and England, unless she had
previously secured allies upon whose fidelity she could
depend in the event of the contest becoming European.
It would therefore be most unwise in any traveller ac-
quainted with the state of Europe, to underrate the great
396 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
strength of such a power as Russia, and still more unwise to
shut our eyes to the real character of the adversary we have
to encounter. A power that step by step has not only won
its way to a marvellous strength, but by a tact and cunning
worthy of an Asiatic, made all the leading princes of Conti-
nental Europe and its aristocracy her puppets;–a power
that has for its subjects those very tribes who have been
accustomed from time immemorial to menace and conquer
the civilization of the world ; and who, though now Schooled
and organized by the civilization of the West, are still kept
in such a state of ignorance and fanaticism as to be like their
barbarous ancestors, the willing agents to undertake any en-
terprise however difficult, under the guidance of a monarch
they have been taught to look up to as a terrestrial deity;-a
monarch, who has only to tell them that the day is come to
abandon their barren steppes and frozen seas, for the glorious
sun of the sweet south, so long polluted by the foot of the
infidel Moslem, to see himself followed by millions of fanatic
warriors; and we have numberless examples in history to
prove what a predatory semi-barbarous people can accomplish
when they know that every step made in advance of their own
sterile country, is a change for the better; whereas here we
have a people propelled by civilization and every possible aid
in art and Science to ensure success. × *-
Apart from the cause of civilization and the progress of
mankind, as a maritime power, and isolated from every con-
nexion with the continental states, we have nothing to fear at
present from Russia invading our own sea-girt islands, even
should she succeed in arraying the whole of Europe against
us. In Asia, however, we have vast interests to defend, and
in anticipation of a hostile attack, we must exert ourselves, by
striking such a blow, as will prostrate her power in that part
of the world. To do this effectually, Russia must be driven
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 397
out of the Black Sea; for so long as she holds the Crimea and
the Circassian coast, Asia will never be free from her aggres-
sive policy; whereas, deprive her of this sea, and her millions
of semi-barbarian subjects would become what they have ever
been, an inert mass, only strong in consequence of the nature
of the country to resist invasion, but incapable from their
poverty and isolation of influencing the destinies of the great
civilized world beyond them. In the meantime, steam navi-
gation, commerce, and a more intimate acquaintance with
the civilization of the West, will have reared up new states,
and schooled their inhabitants how to defend themselves and
their liberties against the common enemy of freedom and
'man's independence. -
Above all, and at every hazard, the Caucasian Isthmus
must be preserved independent;-thaf stronghold, with its
inaccessible mountain fastnesses and manly inhabitants offers
a pied de terre of the highest value in assisting us to check
the advance of the legions of the North. Here we could
organize an army of the bravest soldiers in the world, a
people who having so many wrongs to avenge, would flock to
the standard of any nation willing to aid them in over-
throwing a power that had so long warred against all a brave
man holds dear;-his country and independence.
Undoubtedly, the most vulnerable part of the extensive.
frontier of Russia, are those countries lying on the Black Sea;
and the progress of events, and the character of the inhabitants
indicate them as the position where we could attack her with
'a certainty of success. Besides, the guerillas of the Caucasus,
and those hardy children of the steppe, the Tatars, the
Cossacks of the Don, the Kouban, the Khopi, and the Phase,
cannot be depended upon for their fidelity to a power that
has so treacherously deprived them of their rights and
liberties. With respect to the Caucasus, we have clearly
398 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
shown in this volume that Russia possesses no hold on the
country beyond a few mud forts and intrenchments on the
coast, which she is obliged to defend at an enormous cost of
life and treasure.
It can be no matter of surprise that India, one of the
richest and most fertile countries in the world, and which in
all ages has been eagerly coveted by every great military
power of the day, should now appear a tempting prize to the
rapacious legions of Russia. Knowing this, and that no
dependence can be placed on the faith of a government whose
unprincipled policy is patent to the world, we are more than
ever called upon to protect the hundred millions that there
look up to us as their shield and Safeguard from aggression.
At present we have nothing to fear, nor can there be any
cause for apprehension so long as the Caucasus remains even
nominally independent, but the case would be very different
if Russia succeeded in gaining absolute possession of that
stronghold; then with every road open by sea and land, what
could possibly hinder her from overrunning the whole of
Central Asia, and carrying war and desolation into the very
heart of India:
The question of even the remote probability of an invasion
of India by Russia, is one that demands the gravest conside-
ration; and to devise the best means of frustrating such a de-
sign ought to engage the attention of every man interested in
the preservation of our Asiatic empire. In the first place, we
must be convinced of the expediency and importance of main-
taining the independence of every country lying between the
Russian frontier and the Indus. It must also be evident
that the inhabitants of those countries, destitute for the most
part of moral courage, union of interests, and effective military
organization, could not oppose any formidable resistance, un-
less directed by the counsels, and supported by the arms and
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 399
influence of England. In addition to this, the evil is in-
creased by the circumstance that nearly the whole of Central
Asia is in a state of disorganization. Persia, with an impe-
rious enemy threatening her frontiers, and domineering in her
counsels, is utterly helpless. The Khans of the Afghans, the
Turkomans, the Usbecks, the Kyberees, the Wiseerees, and
several others of minor importance, are not altogether at-
tached to our interests. On the other hand, the Khans of
Bokhara, Khiva, and Khojend, are too fickle as allies, too
treacherous in their dealings with the foreigner, for any reli-
ance to be placed in their friendship or assistance.
Assuming that Russia determines on invading India, there
is no obstacle whatever to prevent her reaching Herat, from
whence to India the march might easily be accomplished
in less than forty days, the Kaffilahs have been known to
make it in twenty-five. On arriving at Cabool, which is
within twelve days’ journey of the Indus, there are two roads,
the upper and lower; that through Kandahar and Ghisnee is
practicable during winter.
In addition to those through Persia there are two or three
routes which might be available for an army to invade India
from the Caspian Sea. The emperor Paul's favourite plan of
invasion, and in which the first Napoleon agreed to join him,
was by way of Oorgunge, as fewer obstructions in the form of
fortified positions were to be met with than in any other.
After passing Amee, the invading army of the allies were to
proceed to Balkh by way of Karjoo and Kirchee; at the latter
place they were to obtain a sufficient stock of provisions pre-
paratory to passing the Himalayah ; and as the attempt was
to be made during summer, the Hindoo Cosh was selected as
the best route for a large army, the ascent being gradual and
less fatiguing than any other.
If Russia were powerful enough during the reign of Paul
to contemplate an invasion of India, how much easier might
400 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
that enterprise be undertaken in the present day, when her
influence and the fame of her arms extends through Central
Asia to Herat and the country of the Afghans; when her
boundaries are already beyond the Araxas; when the Caspian
Sea has become a passage exclusively for her fleets—the
Euxine, a Russian lake, and the independence of the Caucasus
trembling in the balance of war.
In a country like Russia, where a soldier continues one dur-
ing life, it is necessary to find him employment, to prevent a
revolution at home, and nothing could be more alluring than
the promise held out to him of the plunder of India; for such
a contingency as an attack on that country we must be pre-
pared, and endeavour to circumvent it by every means in our
power. Even granting that no actual invasion of India is at
present intended by Russia, still her approaches must be
checked : we have examples enough to prove that she would be
a dangerous neighbour, skilled as she is in all the seductive arts
of sowing discord. At all events so long as she maintains her
position on the Black Sea and the Caspian, now that we have
evoked the demon of war, a large army must ever be ready to
repel attack, and in addition to this a considerable expendi-
ture will be necessary, for employing agents to circumvent the
machinations of a power, who in too many of her negotiations
both public and private dispenses with that morality observed
by civilized nations in their dealings with each other.
Conscious, them, of the unscrupulous policy pursued by the
Russian government in all its dealings with the surrounding
nations civilized, or demi-barbarous, knowing that her vio-
lation of treaties, want of faith, and unprincipled intrigues,
render her a dangerous neighbour, we must recognise the
necessity of immediately placing a barrier against her further
encroachments in this part of the world, and nature herself has
formed that barrier in the stupendous mountains and for-
midable defiles of the Caucasus. If in what we have written
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 401
on this subject, we have made ourselves intelligible to our
readers, it must be evident that the Caucasian isthmus is the
key to all the projected enterprises of Russia in the East, and
that to obtain it is for her a stern political necessity; it there-
fore follows, that those nations whose interests are opposed
to So fatal a result should endeavour to prevent it ;—but we
repeat, we must neither hesitate nor delay—if the present
opportunity passes away, it will probably pass away never to
return
In every point of view, whether political, commercial, or as
countries peculiarly well adapted for colonization, those pro-
vinces comprehending the Caucasian Isthmus deserve especial
consideration. Few countries were more famous in the history
of the ancient Greeks than Colchis, of which Immeretia, Min-
grelia, and Gourial formed the principal part; and however
insignificant these provinces appear in the overgrown empire
of the Tzar of all the Russias, and however depopulated in
the present day, they once maintained a numerous popu-
lation.
This was the country that the civilized sons of immortal
Greece colonized, and taught the rude natives their arts, and
sciences. A vast plain in Mingrelia still bears the name of
Argo the son of Phryxus; he also founded Sinope. Idessa, a
town in Georgia, was built by Jason. The once famous city,
Dioscurias, owes its origin to the followers of Castor and
Pollux. There is even to this day a cape on the Anatolian
coast called after Jason.
Tacitus tells us that Jason performed a second voyage to
the coast of the Black Sea, when he gave laws to his followers
respecting his system of colonization, and founded new settle-
ments on the banks of the Ingour, the Khopi, and the Phase.
But it was not alone on the Euxine that the ancient Greeks
founded colonies; nearly the whole of the tribes on the Cas-
pian Sea, particularly the Iberians and the Albanians, proudly
JD D
402 TURKEY, RUSSIA,
retain the tradition of being descended from the followers of
that great navigator.
Subsequently these fine provinces fell under the rule of
Mithridates, king of Pontus, when they became the granary
of his empire, the most important part of his dominions
Strabo tells us that in his day Mingrelia alone was able to
furnish 200,000 native soldiers, whereas the whole of the
inhabitants of that province, with Immeretia and Gouriale
does not exceed that number in the present day. The Sam,
writer also says that such was the richness of the soil, it pro-
duced four crops annually.
After the fall of the Greek and Roman empires, we have no
authentic records of these provinces till the reign of Thamar,
the Christian queen of Georgia, the Catherine of her day,+
when they were rich, populous, and prosperous; but all this
was doomed to pass away under the blighting rule of the
Mahomedan sovereigns of Persia and Turkey that succeeded,
—an evil increased from the circumstance that they have
been for the last hundred years the arena of nearly all the
battles between the Russians, the Turks, and the Persians in
this part of Asia.
With respect to the capabilities of Mingrelia for com-
mercial purposes, the Ingour, Khopi, Phase, and one or two
other rivers, might be rendered navigable into the heart of
the country, at a very trifling expense, by merely removing
the sand-banks which have been allowed to accumulate at
their outlets into the sea. This part of the coast of the
Euxine is not naturally marshy, as the land may be seen
shelving down to the Sea in most places; and where an inter-
vening ridge presents itself—the cause of those inundations to
which we alluded in a former chapter, the evil might easily
be remedied by cutting a channel. Indeed, traces of this fore-
sight in the inhabitants of former days are everywhere visible;
but, like the outlets of the rivers, they are now partly filled up.
THE BLACK SEA, AND CIRCASSIA. 403
A great source of wealth and employment to an indus-
trious, enterprising people might be derived from the fisheries
of those rivers, and the whole of this part of the coast of the
Black Sea, where the finest sturgeon in the world is found,
and in greater plenty than anywhere else, not excepting the
Wolga and the Caspian. However, for some reason or other,
in accordance with the dark policy of the Russian govern-
ment, fishing is not encouraged in the Black Sea; yet we
were told by the inhabitants of the various ports we visited
with Prince Worrenzow, that the sturgeon came in such
shoals up the river, as to be killed in thousands by the
women and children with staves.
It is scarcely necessary to add, that countries possessing so
many natural advantages in situation, climate, and produc-
tions, cannot remain much longer in their present benighted
state, now that the inhabitants of the civilized West have
turned their attention to those long-neglected countries of
Asia, so long shrouded from the world by the jealous care of
Russia. Commerce, steam-navigation, and a well-directed
system of colonization, under the protection of England and
France, would in a few years effect an entire revolution in the
manners, customs, habits, and ideas of the people: we should
then have new states rising up, adding, by their industry and
civilization, to the prosperity and social happiness of the
world. If we would seek for a practical exemplification of the
description of colonization adapted to them, we have only to
take for our model the ver Sacrum of the ancients, based
on the mutual interests of nations, and to which the whole of
the countries of South Europe, and a great part of Asia, owe
their civilization,--a system which would be peculiarly appli-
cable to the Circassians in their present state of civilization—
a people who, jealous of their liberty, regard with suspicion
every attempt of a foreigner to acquire settlements among
them.
D D 2
404 TURKEY, RUSSIA, &c.
The whole of the adjoining coast of Asia Minor, Armenia,
and Anatolia, from Batoum to the Bosphorus, is equally
fertile, and adapted by its fine climate and situation to every
species of culture. The ports and harbours are, for the most
part, commodious, or might be made so at a trifling expense
Indeed, the whole of these countries possess so many advan-
tages that, at no great distance of time, they must become
commercial, flourishing, and prosperous, if colonized accord-
ing to the same plan. At present we see nothing better
than ruined villages and deserted towns, lands for the most
part lying waste, and the few inhabitants we meet with wear-
ing that forlorn aspect and apathetic indifference to their
future destiny which always characterises a people accus-
tomed to be pillaged alike by friend and foe.
We will now bid the reader farewell: we have wandered
together over the boundless steppe and the trackless Sea, con-
templated the military splendour of imperial Russia and the
simplicity of the Caucasian mountaineer, Surveyed the gilded
minarets and gorgeous khiosks of proud Stamboul and the
miserable hut of the humble serf. May we have learned, by
contemplating other lands, to prize our own-by examining
the defects of other systems of government, to admire the
excellence of that which protects our properties and Our lives,
and to cherish with increased regard the hallowed name of
England—a country where, thanks to the wisdom and bravery
of our ancestors, the humblest peasant enjoys the same free-
dom, rights, and privileges as the proudest noble,_where
justice is equally administered to the rich and the poor, and
where every man can say to his cot, however lowly, “This is
my castle; who dare invade it?”
STRA wd -
shriving thrºosition of the Russian & Qurkish ſomes.
WITH THE ROUTE OF THE RUSSIAN ARMIES IN THE WAR OF 1828-9.
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London: Published by George Routledge & Co


APPENDIX.
—º-
KNOWING the great inconveniences to which strangers are
exposed in those countries of Asia where none of the Euro-
pean languages are spoken by the natives, we have thought
it advisable to append a vocabulary of such words and
phrases as will be found useful in the Turkish, Tatar, and
Circassian languages. The Tatar language will serve the
traveller as a medium of communication in the Crimea,
throughout the whole of the Caucasian isthmus, and in many
parts of the Turkish empire, where it is better understood
than the Turkish. -
\
TURKISH WOCABULARY.
Rules for Pronunciation.
A. The general sound of this vowel is similar to that of the
same letter in the English words call, ball, &c.
P is sounded like the slender a in make, take, &c.
I has the sound of the English ee in seed, eel, &c.
U is similar to that of the Arabic.
Tsch is pronounced nearly like ch in chair, child, &c.
Åh resembles the sound of the Spanish g.
JD at the commencement of a word to be pronounced like t.
Q to be pronounced like k.
English. Twº kish. English. Turkish.
Bread Ekmek Roast-meat Kébâb
Meat Et Beef Syghyr eti
Wine Charāb Mutton Qoioun eti
Water Sou g Weal Dāna eti
Money Pāra Cheese Pèinir
Tobacco Tutun. Eggs Toumoutha
, Tire Atech Salf , Touz
406
WOCABULARY.
English. Turkish. English. Thūrkish.
Pepper |Biber A village Bir keui
Oil Zeitoun Íaghi A garden Bir bàghtche
Winegar Sirke A door Bir qāpou
Coffee Qahvè A window Bir pendjere
Tea, Tchäi A coat Bir rouba
Cream Qaimaq Shoes Qondoura
Sugar Cheker A hat Bir chapqa
Pastry Beurek A shirt Bir gueumlek .
Salad Salatha Gloves Eldiven
A water-melon Bir qarpouz A comb Birtharāq
A peach Bir cheftālan Boots Tchizmè
A fig Bir indjir A razor Bir anstoura
Grapes Uzum A watch Bir Sā’at
Mulberries T}oud . A sword Bir qylidj
An Orange Bir portuqāl Pistols Pychtovi
A lemon Bir limoun Gunpowder . Barout
A knife Bir bitchāq A horse Bir àt,
A fork Birtchatāl A dog Bir kenpek
A plate Bir thabaq A whip Bir qamtchi
A glass Bir qadeh A cow Bir inek
A spoon Bir qachyd A boat Bir qaik
A basin Bir leien A friend Bir dost
A chair Bir iskemlè A book Bir kitāb
A table - Bir Sofra Paper Riāghyd
A bed Bir jatāq Ink Murekkeb
A room Bir Odha A reed-pen Bir qālem
A house Bir ey A penknife Bir qalemträch
English. Turkish.
A pencil. Bir qourchoun qālem.
Give me. Wer baiã.
If you please. Roukhsatynyz-ilè.
Would you have the goodness to 'Ynäiet idermicyńyz bou chei
give me that ?
I am much obliged to you.
Where are you going?
I am going home.
Whence do you come 3
Is Mr. at home 3
What o'clock is it {
It is mid-day.
What weather is it?
It is bad weather.
It is fine weather.
It rains.
Good day, Sir.
How do you do to-day ?
I hope you are well.
Virmèiè?
Sizum pek memnouăyz im.
Něrèſe guidiemrsińyz?
Evé guidiéurum.
Nérèden'guèlieursińyz?
Felâm kimesně evinde mi?
Sā’at qātchte dur?
Euilendur.
Naeyl havãº
Havā fenādur.
Havā guzel.
Havă nuń gueuzi ſãchlu.
Waqticherifiñyzkhairolaefendum.
Bougunmizādji cherifiñyz nacyl
Syhhat ti afiietuñuz eiudur in-
chall’ah.
WOCABULARY, 407
English.
Very well, thank you.
I am very glad to hear it.
I must go.
Farewell.
Good night.
Is there any news to-day !
Is it true that — ?
I think so.
I am hungry.
What will you have to eat?
I am thirsty.
Give me something to drink.
With pleasure.
Will you have ices, lemonade, or
coffee?
Give me a cup of coffee.
Where does this road go to ?
Which is the shortest way to the
bazaar?
Straight on.
I am ill.
I am better.
How much do you want for that
horse?
That is very dear !
I will give you seven hundred pi-
asters for it. *
Turkish,
Hamdā cummè hamdā vudjou-
dum' àffiettedur.
Boundan pek khochnoud oulou-
TUIII].
Guitsem guèrek.
Allaha ismarladuq.
Guidjèſſiuz khair ola.
Ban gun khaber Värmi'ſ
Guertehekmi dur ki?
Inānūrum.
Qarnum atch.
Ně istersyńyz ièmèiè?
Sançouzum.
Wirün birāz itchèim.
Pek ein.
Dhondurma mi, limonata mi,
iokhsa qahvè mi istersynyz"
Bir findjān qahve verbañā.
Nérèſe gueturur bou iol?
Bāzāré guitmek itchoun folyn qan-
ghici iaqyndur'ſ
Dhoghron dhoghrouía guidifiyz.
Pek khasta im.
Pek ein im.
Né istercińyz bou äta?
Pek pahālu.
Jedi inz ghourouchum Vår syzè.
ENGLISH AND TATAR.
English. Tatar.
One bir
TWO iki
Three utsh
Four deurt
Five béche
Six ălţi
. Seven yedi
Eight Sékis
Nine dokous
Ten Oné
Eleven oné-bir
Twelve oné-iki
Thirteen Oné-utsh
Twenty cghirmi
English. Toºtoº'.
Twenty-one eghirmi-bir .
Thirty Ottouze
Forty kirk
Fifty elli
Sixty ältmisch
Seventy ietmisch.
Eighty sekicéne
Ninety doukoucéne
Hundred iuz
Thousand bine
The first birindji
The second ikindji
The third utschindji
The follrth Sonki
4.08 WOCABULARY.
English. Tatar. English. Tatar.
January Ramazane July Rebi-et-Evel
February Chèvail August Rebi-el-akhire
March Zilkadé September. Djemazioul-Evel
April Zilhadji October Djemazioul-Akhir
May Marème November Redjél
June Séfer December Cabane
English. Tatar.
Where does that road lead to ? Bouyol néréye wari?
opposite'ſ karchimeder'ſ
to the right?
to the left
Is there a spring of water near
here
I shall stop here.
Let us continue our journey.
Let us go to that village.
Conduct me to the Moullah.
Inquire if he is at home.
Why did you remain so long"
Let me have some provisions.
Take care of my luggage.
Can we ford that river?
Go first.
What o'clock is it?
Holloa
Where is the chief elder of the
village!
Carry my luggage.
Give me a light.
Look at my firman.
Open the window.
Make a fire.
I wish to have my linen washed.
Iſet it be ready to-morrow.
Can I hire an Araba'!
I will pay well for it.
Can I have a guide to conduct me
to — ?
Can I hire a horse for the whole
of the journey?
What will it cost
It is too dear.
It is not dear.
Have you change
sagh eldémeder!
sol eldémeder?
Tschokrak warmé yakené yierde?
Benne bourade douradjaimé.
Guideik yoloumouza.
Tucheik bou koi.
Aida mollaia guideik.
War sor evdemé.
Né itschemé sene okadar otour-
doune?
Ver aché-edjaguemi.
Cheilerimi benimé sacIa.
Bou Soudane guetschileami?
Guetsch oguné.
Gune katsch Sahat oldou?
Hé !
Kaida onbachi?
Benime cheiléreguétir.
Moume wer.
Bou bânime firmane.
Pendjérei atsch. -
Yakinis atesch adjac itschindé.
Bir munkune warméder tehama-
chiryuvemaia.
Djančme yarene azer alsoune.
Bir Arabakirainaneboulounourmé?
Parasséne véréreme saná.
Yolou billene souroudji warmé fil-
amyer utschune
Gundeluklene at boulonourmet
t
Bounoume boussé néder!
Baaleder.
Oudjousder.
Ouſak aktscha warmé!
WOCABULARY.
409
Jºnglish.
Return me a rouble. ,
I have lost my watch.
See if you can find it.
I will reward you liberally.
I am satisfied.
There is none.
I don’t understand.
Can you sell me that %
Here is the money.
Sing me a Tartar Song.
Dance,
Boil some water for tea.
Fetch me the elder of the village.
I leave here to-morrow. -
Boil water for my coffee to-morrow
morning. #
Get some fresh cream this evening
for to-morrow.
Saddle the horses.
Fasten my baggage.
Make haste.
I thank you for your attention.
Adieu. f
Pleasant journey to you.
Let us be off.
Give this to your children.
Who is there?
Give me a basin to wash my hands.
A napkin.
Have you got fresh milk?
Have you fresh butter |
Bring me some.
Can you make me some chicken
broth ...” A
How long will it take to make it?
What is the name of that ?
T}o you belong to the village',
Are you acquainted with the route?
What is the name of that river ?
that mountain?
that place?
Let us stop here.
Take my horse.
Make haste.
Not so fast.
Let us return the same way.
Have you found it'ſ
Let us go together.
Taidº".
Kaitar bana bir roublé.
Benime saät kaibetténe.
Moukaet ol boulchounou djaméme.
Bena senine makratschéne véri-
rime.
Ache aldoume.
Yoktour.
Agnamamé.
Stermesséne bana bounou Satmaia'ſ
Bou para.
Tatar awassé tschal.
Oinamis beraber.
Son kainat tehai outschune.
Onbachia Seuilé guelsine.
Yaréné guidé djégrume.
Yaremé sabãh azerla kainamuisch
sou kavé utschene.
Bougune tazé caimac boul yarena.
War attakoi eiguéri.
Youklé chiêléreme.
Tez-ol.
Icramine outschune.
Sagluklane khal.
Ogourola.
Aida.
Guétir balane.
Kime War?
Wer bir leguene ellemi youvaime.
Elbezi. !
Sut warmé ekchi olmassené!
Tazé Saré yagh varmé'ſ
Guéter bana.
Olour moussene meietaouk tschor-
basé !
"Nekadar waket lazené !
Aden massel ?
Bou koilemessene?
Yolou ei bilirmessen'!
Boutschairi in ade massen'ſ
bou dagh',
bou yer?
Douraik.
Toute atti.
Aidé guidéik tez.
Yavache yuréik.
Kaita ik.
Bouldoun mou?
Dārābār guidóik,
410
WOCABULARY.
English. Tatar.
Stay here. Dour bounda.
Open the gate. Atsch kapi.
Shut the gate. Capi kapa.
Give me that plant. Bou fidane.
Light my tehibouque. Ver atésche tschoubouka. -
is there a village near ! Bounda yaken bir koi yokméder?
a house? bir ey?
Don’t deceive me. Aldatma bana.
I am unwell. Hastaime.
I have got a fever. Bendé set me var.
I am fatigued. Yorouldoumé.
Give me some water. Wer bana sou.
Help ! help ! Wai Vai
I am hungry. Atsch-oldume.
I am thirsty. Sousadéme.
ENGLISH, TATAR, AND CIRCASSIAN.
English. Tatar. Circassian.
Sunday Bazar-gune T-haoumaw
Monday Bazar-ertessi Pleu-peu
Tuesday Salli-gune Ghoubtkhe
Wednesday Tschiarchen-beh Pérétz-kési
Thursday Perchen-beh Mea-feauk :*
Friday Djiouhmah Pérétzke-kouche
Saturday Djioumah-ertessi Méfézéakéua.
Morning Sabāh Neptchediche
Bvening Akchame Tchazgose
Sun Guneche Tgha
Moon i Mazi
Stars Yieldize Dizilé
Thunder and lightning Ilderime Chebli & Ghouasseu
Clouds Boulout Osoukhapchi
River Irmak PS6
Sea. Deniz Ghéi
Mountain Dagh TKhé & Aouaz
Walley Oba, Atté
Earth Yer Tchi
Fingers Parmak Eup-khouambe
Teeth Diche Tseu
Beard Sakal Djaghé
Mouth Aghéz Jeu
Hair Sache Chkhatsi
Tongue Dil BZégou
Hand EI Ea
Legs Baldir Thlakoua
Nose Bouroume Peu
Ears Roulak Tagoum
WOCABULARY.
4ll
English.
Mustachio
Blood
Cloak
Cap
Stockings
- Coverlet
Dress
Shoes
Iron "
Wax
Gun
Sabre
Poniard
Gunpowder
Nails
Lamb
Ox
Horse
Dog
, Cat
Cock
Geese
Hare
Wolf
Fox
Fowl.
God
Father
Mother
Son
Daughter
Man
Woman
Brother
Sister
Friend
Water
Fire
Bread
Cheese
Milk
Sour Milk
Flour
Nuts
Onions
Honey
Eggs
Pears
Tatar.
Byük
Rane
Bourka
Kalpak
Tschorap
Yorghane
Espap
Rarewleh
Démir
Mogur
Toufek
Kelitsch
Kindjal
Mouck
Kouzou
Ogus
At, or Allacha
Riepek
Redi
Khoroz
Kaz
Rouyane
Kourte
Tilki
Tschiptsché
Allah
Baba
Ana
Oglou
Rize
Adam
Karé, or Khessa
Rardasch
Ryzkardasch
Sou
Ateche
Ekmek
Penir
Sute
Yaourte
Onne,
Djeriz
Soghane
Ral
Youmourta
Armout
Circassian.
Padjeu
TheW.
Tchaouko
Paougho
Thlépéte
Tchékhghéne
Tsi
Tchuako
Oughoutche
Chéfèl
Tskhouénke
Kéateau
Rameu
Ghunu
Oughoundjoughoune
Mélai *-
Tsu
Chi
Châ,
Kétou
Attakeu
TS-khouenke
Tagoumghia
Doughousu
BédjaSueu
|Réti
TRha.
Yati
Yani
Gou
Psasi
Tlé, or Tséfeu
Chassa
Paka.
Paki
Siblaghue
Psi
Mazoué
Tchäoukhe
Khaie
Sézéno
Skhou
Adjigha
Dezu
Bjunu
Soou
Riarkia
Rhouzou
412
WOCABULARY.
English.
Plums
Salt
Wine
Meat
Good morning.
Good evening.
Good night.
How do you do?
That you may be happy. Sabaninis khaīr ola.
I am much obliged to Icramine outschune.
you.
Tatar.
Erik
Touze
Charap
Eté
Sabans khair olsoune.
Akchame khaīr olsoune.
Akchamniz khaīr.
Rhoche bouldouk'ſ
I love you very much. Seni pek séverime.
You are welcome.
Farewell.
Sit down.
Let us go.
Wait.
To-morrow.
Give me.
To-day.
Bring me.
Enough.
Khoche keldime.
Allah razolsoune.
Otour.
Guideik.
T}ourbounda.
Yaréne.
Wer bana.
Bougune.
Gueter bana.
Oldou.
May you ever be happy. Zemainis khair ola.
Take Something to eat. Acha.
Pretty, very pretty.
Open the door.
Shut the door.
I am going.
I don'a know.
Begone !
T168. I’.
Dilber.
Atsch capi.
Capi kapa.
Bene guidé djéime.
Bélémme.
don't come Tschiktscharé.
THE END.
Circassian.
Skhoupza
Choughou
Souate
Gli-i
Ouptché dézo khapchi.
Ouptché azo khapchi.
Ouptché essizé okhou.
Ouza-pachme?
Mafizou Sapchi.
TKha-ou-spou.
Bo Sedjas.
O-Sapchi.
Otkhache.
Tize.
Negoua.
Saboure.
Nakhoupche.
Sakhe séte.
Népe.
Nakhe.
Pachu rokhouen.
Ghog-mar.
Ouchekhoune, or Yeb-
laghe ouche-khoune.
Dakhu déd.
Ptché roukheu.
Ptchériaghasé.
Sigholi.
Tsghourèp.
Oukha mouke.
F. CLAY, PRINTER, BRIEAD STREET H II, T, .
fºodbypeservatonnº 1992 3 9015 02262 4426
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