336 
pear but as a laughable caricature, as the 
Italians appear to the northern nations of 
Europe. 
TIE PERSIANS. 
Of these there are so few at Constanti- 
nople that their existence disappears in the 
crowd, and any nice. characterization is 
hardly possible from the few specimens 
of observation. They are chiefly mer- 
chants, or dervizes, intent on gain, the one 
by ecommerce, the other by begging. As 
Shuis, or heretics, they cannot lift up their 
heads, and are more hated by the fanatical 
Sunnis, or orthodox, than even the Jews; 
for the Turks have a proverb, that, at the 
last day, the Persians shall serve as asses 
for the Jews to ride to hell upon. Thus 
treated, no wonder they have recourse to 
that lying and cheating of which they are 
frequently accused. 
THE JEWS. 
The curse of reprobation with which 
this nation has more or less been smitten 
the whole world through, lies no where so 
heavy upon them as in the Turkish empire, 
where they are not only exposed to the ill 
usage of the domineering party, butalso to 
the scorn and insult of Christian slaves. 
Christian boys tease the Jews with inipu- 
nity, especially in the holy week, when 
they no more dare shew themselves than a 
Sunni in Persia during the anniversary of 
Hussein’s funeral, An idea may be formed 
of the low estimation in which Jews are 
held, from this circumstance, that a Jew, 
who wishes to turn Moslem, is never re- 
ecived immediately into the faith of Islam, 
but must first get baptized by the Chris- 
tians, and is thence admitted, as from a 
higher degree of nobility, into the honours 
of the true faith. No wonder, therefore, 
that the Jews form the dregs of the popu- 
lation; they are mostly Caraites, 
: THE ARMENIANS. 
The relation of descent and language, 
which allies the Jew to the Arab, the 
Greek to the Persian, and the Armenian 
to the Turk, is in nothing more visible 
than in its being peculiar to the Armenian 
to nee: and pronounce properly the 
Turkish language, which the Arab, the 
Persian, the Greck, or the Jew, cannot ac- 
complish. Industry, perseverance, tem- 
Proceedings of Public Societies. 
[May 1, 
perance, are praiseworthy characters of 
the Armenians; but, on the other hand, 
they betray marks of coarseness, impu- 
dence, and tastelessness. ‘Phe Turk -for- 
gives to the Persian his coarseness, and to 
the Greek his impudence, and requires fo r- 
giveness for his own tastelessness; but, for 
true cynical shamelessness, he is surpassed 
by the Armenian. 
THE GREEKS. 
In the gallery of natural characters the 
modern Greek has recently Been painted 
so often, that a new votive tablet needs 
not be hung up; let me, however, add 
a couple of traits, namely, that the Greek, 
notwithstanding the pressare of his chains, 
and the progressive deterioration of centu- 
ties of slavery, still conceals under the 
ashes the intellectual quickness and free 
spirit of his forefathers, and that his eha- 
racter is a mixture of glittering tendencies 
and dark weaknesses, as exhibited in the 
Byzantine history. ‘Taste, and quick deli- 
cacy of perception, have been inherited 
without diminution ; and to this, perhaps, 
is to be ascribed that tendency to cunning, 
slyness, perfidy, and stratagem, which 
cannot be wholly denied to them.—Vol. 2, 
p- 388. 
On the whole, this account of Con- 
stantinople is the mostcomplete deserip- 
tion extant, and deserves the consultae- 
tion of the antiquary, of the traveller, 
and of the statesman: it isan honour to 
Austrian literature, and a contribution 
to European instruction. 
Those blundering pacificators of the 
world, who set up a kingdom of the 
Netherlands in order to depriye us 
of Java and Surinam, and in order 
to secure to France a resumption at 
pleasure of Belgium and Holland, will 
not know bow to avail themselyes ad- 
vantageously of the approaching dis- 
meniberment of the ‘Turkish empire. 
But, from the statement here made of 
its misgovernment and capabilitics, the 
eye of philanthropy may view without 
regret a new distribution of its fragments 
among sovereigns of a more enlightened 
character. ' 
PROCEEDINGS OF PUBLIC SOCIETIES. 
—— a 
AFRICAN INSTITUTION. 
as Society lately published its fif- 
teenth report; and, although it 
was convicted of partiality and negli- 
gence by Dr. Thorpe, yet it continues 
to be an interesting and promising as- 
sociation, and we have great pleasure 
in bringing its important proceedings 
under the notice of our readers. 
Fourteen years, say the directors, 
have now elapsed since the Bill for the 
Abolition of the Slave Trade became an 
Act of the Imperial Parliament of 
Great Britain; but, it having been 
found, however, that the penalties of 
that Act were not suflicient to deter 
British subjects from continuing the 
slave trade, parliament, in the year 
1811, enacted that every British sub- 
ject, and every person residing within 
; the 
