European and Asiatic Turkey, 261 



the rapid process of depreciation, the distant tiii^hng of brass 

 may be heard even now by the ear, practised in the sounds of 

 coming events ! ^ As long as the fates permit, let the profession 

 struggle against the adoption of this oriental custom, let it in 

 this instance prefer the usages of the West to the wisdom 

 of the East, let it not be said of us, that we are " avari, 

 ambitiosi, quos oriens non occidens satiaverit." "I- Strange as 

 it may appear, the Turkish physicians are almost exceeded in 

 singularity by their patients, who require the most extraordi- 

 nary qualifications on the part of their medical attendants. 

 Thus, nothing so enhances in their eyes the value of a physi- 

 cian, as his being able to tell every thing after feeling the 

 pulse. By the pulse alone, he must know not merely the na- 

 ture of the disease, but must be able to say whether the patient 

 slept well the night before, what he ate during the day, whe- 

 ther the bowels are open, &c. &c. After having once felt the 

 pulse, the physician must put no question to his patient, for it 

 is considered as a sign of ignorance ; at his very first visit, he 

 must declare, from the pulse, at what precise time the patient 

 will die or recover. The governor of Adrianople, Halish Pl^- 

 cha, once visited the tent of the Russian general, Paulin, where 

 Dr Oppenheim and two other physician* were attending at 

 levee. Each of the three successively was presented to the 

 Pascha, who made them feel his pulse ; and when the ceremony 

 was over, he immediately declared, that one of them was in- 

 comparably a better physician than the others, for said this 

 wise Pascha, he felt my pulse much better ! tV\ .^' ^ \ 



" Often, says Dr Oppenheim, *' on presenting my passport 

 to a Turkish officer, the moment he read the words ' Hekim 

 Baschi,' has he turned out the guard and drawn thenri up. in 

 order that I might feel the pulse of each. This, of course, I 

 used to do with vast gravity and apparent attention, and the 

 men were quite pleased upon being informed that they were ip 

 excellent health !"" 



Many of the knavish Greek physicians pay the domestics 

 to give them private intelligence, concerning the diet, eva- 

 cuations, &c. of their patients, whom they afterwards impose 



• Coming events have shadows, why not sounds ? 

 t Tacitus— ^^ricote vita. 



