none so low that
he has not a slave; the grand vizier kisses the sultan's foot, the pasha
kisses the vizier's, the bey the pasha's, and so on. Yet their many
virtues half redeem their faults. They are proverbial for their
hospitality, and charity, which 'covereth a multitude of sins,' is an
oriental virtue. They have, too, great love of nationality. The beggar
who seeks alms of the Turk with cries and entreaties, will not ask a
single para of the Frank (a name applied to all foreigners).

Turkey in Europe, though smaller in extent than the Asiatic division of
the empire, is by far the wealthier and more important. It extends from
Russia to the Adriatic, and from Hungary to the Euxine sea, the command
of which it shares jointly with Russia. The Straits of Constantinople,
the Dardanelles, and the Sea of Marmora are free to all friendly
nations. The situation of the country, its numerous and safe harbors,
are all favorable to commerce. There is every variety of climate, and
the soil in every part of the empire is fertile, and, when cultivated,
yields productions in the greatest abundance. The agricultural, like the
manufacturing industry, owing to the indolence of the people, is much
neglected. This indolence is, in a great measure, the result of
oppression. Before Russia extended her protection over the provinces,
the Turks left agriculture to their tributaries, whom, when wealthy and
prosperous, they plundered.

Let us now consider the causes which led to the decline of the empire.
In the reign of Solyman, poetry, science, and art flourished. New
privileges were conferred upon the ministers of religion; the
Janissaries received increased pay; the coffers of the empire were
filled to overflowing; the condition of the rayas was ameliorated;
security to life, honor, and property was given to all, without
distinction of creed or race. But even then there were causes at work
destined to effect a decline. The sultan in person was ever at the head
of his troops. Thus the vizier, or prime minister, who remained in the
capital, became, by degrees, a more influential personage than 'the
grand seignior' himself. The intrigues of the eunuchs in the imperial
harem began to exert their baneful influences on the administration. The
seraglio--in which many hundred females are immured, the most beautiful
that can be found in the contiguous realms of Europe and Asia, wherever
the Turk bears sway--from being the most beautiful appendage,