rkish, _Veziri Azam_, the Chief
Vezir, whose official residence or place of business, once no doubt at the
portal of his sovereign, is now in a splendid edifice in the midst of the
capital. At Constantinople the Ottoman government is also called the
"Sublime Government," _Devleti Alieh_, a word closely bordering on that of
superiority and pre-eminence claimed by the "Heavenly Government" of the
empire of China. The Sultan, in speaking of his government, calls it "My
Sublime Porte." The Grand Vezir being an officer of the highest rank in
the empire--a Pacha, of course, in fine, _the_ Pacha--his official residence
is known in Constantinople as that of the Pacha, _Pacha Ka pousee_, _i.e._
the "Gate of the Pacha." The chief entrance to the "seraglio" of the
former Sultans, erected on the tongue of land where once stood the
republican city of Byzantium, called the "Imperial Gate," or the _Babi
Humayoon_, is supposed by some to have given rise to the title of "The
Sublime Porte;" but this is not correct. It may have once been used as a
court of justice, certainly as a place where justice was wont to be
executed, for not unfrequently criminals were decapitated there; and among
others, the head of the brave but unfortunate Aali Pacha, of Yanina in
Albania, the friend of Lord Byron, was exposed there for some days
previous to its interment beyond the walls of the city.

The title of _porte_, or door, is used in Constantinople to designate
other departments of the government. The bureau of the Minister of War is
called the _Seraskier Kapousee_, or the Gate of the _Serasker_ (head of
the army); and those of the Ministers of Commerce and Police are called,
the one _Tijaret Kapousee_, and the other _Zabtieh Kapousee_. These,
however are sufficient, without mentioning any other facts, to explain the
origin and nature of the title of the Ottoman government, known as "The
Sublime Porte."

The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire is known by his subjects under the title
of _Sultan_, which word signifies a ruler; and generally as _Shevketlu
Padischah Effendimiz_, "His Majesty the Emperor our Lord;" and all foreign
governments now recognize him as an Emperor, and call him by the title of
"Imperial Majesty." The definition of the word _Padischah_ is supposed to
be "Father of Kings," and originally was _Peder Schah_, the first part of
it (Peder) being the origin of our Saxon word _Fader_, or father. In his
own tongue he is called _Khan_, in Persian