tradesman forgets
his dealings, and transforms his shop into a place of devotion; and the
student lays aside his books, to go through his accustomed
supplications. "Never to fail in his prayers" is the highest
commendation a Turk can receive; and so prejudicial is the suspicion of
irreligion, that even libertines dare not disregard the notices of the
Maazeen. The mosques, like chapels in Catholic countries, are always
open, and two or three times every day prayers are offered within their
walls. It has often been remarked, that the devotions of Christians
might acquire something valuable from the gravity, the decorum, and the
apparently intense occupation of mind in Turkish worship. The Jews
trod {273} their holy place barefoot: the Turks, on the contrary, keep
on their boots and shoes. Christians uncover their heads in prayer;
the Moslems seldom lay aside their turbans; but for hours they will
remain prostrate, or standing in one position, as if absorbed in the
most intense abstraction. They have neither altars, pictures, nor
statues in their places of worship. Verses of the Koran, the names and
personal descriptions of their Prophet, of Ali and his two sons, Hassan
and Hosein, with other Moslem saints, are sometimes inscribed in
letters of gold on their walls. All distinctions of rank and
profession are forgotten when they pray. Persons of every class, on
the first sound of the accustomed cry, cast themselves on the ground,
and thus declare their belief in the equality of mankind, in the sight
of the great Father of all.

The Mohammedans of Turkey have a Sabbath, for which the Jewish or
Christian may be supposed to have furnished the model. Friday is their
day of rest, which commences on the preceding evening, when the
illuminated minarets and colonnades of the mosques give to their cities
the appearance of a festival. At noon, on Friday, all business is
suspended, the mosques are filled, and prayers are read by the
appointed officers, accompanied by the prostrations of the people.
Discourses are likewise frequently delivered on {274} practical points
in their theology; and sometimes, in the ardour of excitement,
political corruption and courtly depravity are fiercely assailed. A
voluptuous sultan has been known, under the effect of these discourses,
to tear himself from the soft indulgences of his harem and court, to
lead his martial subjects to war and victory on the plains of their
enemies. As soon a