CONST \Miis cin.ours 



CONSTIPATION 



this quarter were burned down in 1870, including 

 tin- Kriglish embassy, and 40,000 persons were left 

 homeless. The result was n considerable improve 

 mi-lit in tin- architecture iiinl ventilation of I 'era. 

 Tlie steep iiinl badly paved Grande Hue, which 

 traverses the whole quarter, and is continued 

 along tlie shore of tin' Bosporus for many miles, 

 is. however, still in parts little better than a lane ; 

 but it is lined with fair if expensive shops, and 

 boasts a rude opera-house, many cafes and restau- 

 rants, licsides most of the principal hotels, and 

 probably the worst morals in Europe. In Pera is 

 the English Memorial Church, erected in honour 

 of those who fell in the Crimean war. Turks pre- 

 ponderate at Ton-liana, which is so named from 

 its cannon-foundry, and is chiefly famous for 

 its market, its Circassian slave-dealers, its caique- 

 huilding, and its beautiful marble fountain. Close 

 by is the magnificent palace of Dolmabagche, on 

 the brink of the Bosporus. 



Among the other suburbs mav be mentioned 

 Ka-im Pasha, extending beyond Galata, along 

 the north shore of the Golden Horn, the seat of 

 the admiralty ; continued by Hoskoi, inhabited 

 by a Jewish and Armenian colony ; and at the 

 head of the Golden Horn the picturesque village 

 of Eyyub, a green medley of gardens and grave- 

 yards surrounding the celebrated mosque where 

 every sultan must gird on the sword of Osman 

 ere he may ascend the throne. No Christian 

 is allowed to approach the holy place. Along 

 the European shore of the Bosporus are many 

 villages used as summer resorts by the Perotes, 

 among which Therapia, the chief summer resi- 

 dence of the ambassadors, and Biyukdere are the 

 most important. The Asiatic shore is also lined 

 with settlements, from Scutari, which is the 

 Asiatic suburb of Stambol (where is the chief 

 Turkish burial-place, as well as the great Crimean 

 cemetery), to Candili, where is a large European 

 population, chiefly of the trading classes, and 

 Beikos (see BOSPORUS). Numerous palaces of 

 past sultans and ministers line both shores, 

 Dolmabagche on the European and Begler- 

 beg on the Asiatic being the largest ; but the 

 present sultan resides in a new palace called 

 Yildiz Koshki, at the top of the hul of Beshik- 

 tash, beyond Pera. Famous among pleasure 

 resorts are the Sweet Waters of Europe, at the 

 head of the Golden Horn ; Kiahat-hana, near the 

 Castle of Asia ; the forest of Belgrade ; and the 

 Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmora, not far 

 from Kadikoi, the ancient Chalcedon. The popu- 

 lation of Constantinople is estimated at about 

 875,000, of whom hair are Mohammedans. The 

 trade, chiefly in the hands of Europeans, is much 

 below what it might be if properly developed. 

 The burden of vessels entering and clearing the 

 port is placed at 4,000,000 tons. The city has 

 great strategical importance, and is fortified on 

 the land side. The first through train from 

 Paris reached Constantinople in 1888 ; there are 

 also railways to Salonika and Uskub, and to 

 Bourgas. 



See BYZANTINE EMPIRE and TURKEY, and books there 

 quoted ; Brodribb and Besant, Constantinople and its 

 Siqies (1878); E. Pears, The Fall of Constantinople 

 (1885); and books on the topography and history by 



E. de Amicis (trans. 189(5), Mrs Minto Elliott (1892), 

 Paspates (1893), Coufopoulos (Black's Guides, 1895), 



F. Marion Crawford (1895), E. A. Grosvenor (1895); 

 and on Santa Sophia I > y Lethaby and Swainson ( 1894 ). 

 For the Councils of Constantinople, see COUNCIL. 



ConstantillS ChlorilS, nephew of the em- 

 peror Claudius II., became Ciesar in 292 A.D., 

 received Britain, Gaul, and Spain as his govern- 

 ment, and after re-establishing Roman power in 

 Britain and defeating the Alemanni, became one 



of the two Augustuses in 305, but died at York in 

 306. Constantino the Great wan hi* KOIJ. (2) 

 i \vnrs, third son of ConsUintine, was 

 Unman emperor, 337-361 A.D. He fought with 

 the Persians ; and after the death in 3oO of hut 

 In-other Constans (who in 340 had defeated their 

 elder brother (,'oiistantine), became sole emperor 

 till his death in .'Mil. 



Constanza. See KUSTEXDJI. 



Constellation ( Lat. con, ' together,' and stella, 

 ' a star ' ), a group of stars. The stars which stud the 

 linn an lent have, from a time earlier than authentic 

 records can trace, been formed into artificial groups, 

 which have received names borrowed from fancy 

 or fable, mainly from Greek mythology. These 

 groups are called constellations. Though quite 

 devoid of anything like systematic arrangement, 

 this traditional grouping is found a sufficiently 

 convenient classification, and still remains the 

 basis of nomenclature for the stars among astro- 

 nomers. They are divided into northern, southern, 

 and zodiacal constellations. In old authors, ' con- 

 stellation ' is used to signify the relative positions 

 of the planets (see ASPECTS) at a given moment. 

 See STARS, ORION, URSA MAJOR, ZODIAC. 



Constipation, or irregular and insufficient 

 action of the bowels, is one of the most common 

 of ailments ; there are few persons in fact who 

 have not at some time or other suffered from it. 

 It may be due either to deficient secretion of fluids 

 in the digestive organs, or to imperfect muscular 

 action of the bowels (see DIGESTION), or most 

 often to both these causes combined. The reten- 

 tion within the organism of matters which should 

 be regularly evacuated as they are formed, and 

 their consequent absorption into the blood and 

 tissues of the body, often leads to a whole train of 

 unpleasant symptoms : headache, or pain in other 

 regions, irritability, lassitude, and debility, and 

 many other discomforts may be due to this cause. 

 In prolonged and severe cases of constipation, 

 actual obstruction of the bowels (ileus) may 

 result ; and often the bowel becomes so distended 

 and its muscular power so enfeebled that the 

 restoration of a healthy condition is impossible. 



Constipation is especially apt to occur in those 

 who lead sedentary lives, or whose diet consists 

 too exclusively of animal food and starchy sub- 

 stances. It may often be avoided by judicious 

 regulation of habits and diet; and the hygienic 

 treatment is of far more importance than the 

 medicinal. 



In perfect health, the lower bowel should be 

 evacuated every day, or at the furthest every 

 second day. This process, like many others in 

 the body, tends to recur at the same period every 

 day, and every one should do all he can to acquire 

 a habit of regularity in this respect. Moderate 

 regular exercise, especially in the open air, is 

 often of great importance ; where the liver is at 

 fault, riding is specially useful. A daily cold 

 lnuh, or in the case of those with whom this does 

 not agree, brisk rubbing with a rough towel, may 

 be helpful. A favourite remedy with some is the 

 use of a cloth wrung out of cold or tepid water 

 and applied to the abdomen ; this, as used at 

 hydropathic establishments, is called an 'abdomi- 

 nal compress,' and is worn under a bandage of 

 macintosh cloth, to keep the moisture from escap- 

 ing, during the earlier part of the day. 



Attention to diet is of prime importance. In 

 Britain very many persons live almost entirely 

 on animal food, white bread, and potatoes, a diet 

 extremely apt to lead to constipation. There are 

 many easily obtainable foods the habitual use of 

 which would in many cases correct this tendency. 

 Oatmeal, especially in the form of porridge, brown 



